Defenceman Tanner Gold will don the captain's "C" this season with the Battlefords North Stars. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Taking the torch

North Stars name Gold captain for 2023-24 season

Aug 24, 2023 | 5:01 PM

The Battlefords North Stars made headlines Thursday, announcing that defenceman Tanner Gold will serve as captain of the team for the 2023-24 hockey season.

Gold, a product of Medicine Hat, AB., is a 20-year-old heading into his third season with the club, and told battlefordsNOW about what it means to be given the ‘C’ this year.

“Obviously when [head coach] Brayden [Klimosko] told me, I was super excited,” he said. “It’s a great organization, so it’s an honour to wear the “C” for them and I had Jake [Southgate] and ‘Ninch’ (Ryland McNinch) be my captains in the past and they’ve both been great captains, so I’ll take a bit from each of them and try to use that this year.”

In 49 games last season, Gold achieved new career-highs across the board with eight goals and 22 assists for 30 points, to finish just outside the top-10 in defensemen scoring.

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In addition to his offensive contributions, #6 was also a force on the defensive end, establishing himself amongst the league’s elite when it comes to shutting down the opposition’s best.

That defensive ability was highlighted in the playoffs, as Gold was routinely matched up against the opponent’s top lines on the Stars’ run to the SJHL championship, forming the team’s go-to shutdown pair alongside key deadline acquisition, Alex Izyk.

Tanner Gold (right) and Alex Izyk (left) were a force on the backend for the North Stars on their run to the SJHL championship last spring. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

With textbook positioning, strong gap control, and a Lidstrom-esque strength and dexterity with his stick as his foundation, Gold’s ability to contribute at both ends of the ice with precision is a skill the blue liner has continued to build on over his first two years in the Battlefords, since breaking in with the team out of training camp back in the fall of 2021.

Though he scored just seven points (two goals, five assists) as a freshman, Gold’s poise with the puck and defensive acumen became evident through his first year in the league, establishing the then 18-year-old as a pillar in the Stars’ top-four, on his way to earning Most Improved Player at the team’s year-end awards banquet following the 2021-22 season.

After following that up with a career year in ’22-23, the veteran remains as determined as ever to continue to take his game to another level yet, this fall.

“Coming in during my first year [Junior hockey] definitely takes a little getting used to, but then last year I was definitely focusing a lot more on producing a bit more offensively,” he said, reflecting on his development. “Now this year I’m just hoping to keep building on that even more and keep progressing and be a dominant defenceman out there.”

Though fall camp has yet to begin, head coach and general manager of the Stars, Brayden Klimosko said it was an easy decision to name Gold as team captain this year, as a player who sets the tone and has proven himself as a natural leader through his first two years.

“It was a no-brainer for me,” Klimosko said matter-of-factly. “Goldie has just been all we could ask for the last couple of years and he’s earned everything he’s gotten. He’s a leader in the room and on the ice and guys respect him, so it was a pretty easy choice.”

Gold and his North Stars teammates currently sit just over two weeks from the start of the 2023-24 preseason. The Stars will play their first of four exhibition games Sept. 10 against Kindersley (Rookie game). The team will also open their regular season schedule against the Klippers, Sept. 22 at the ACC.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1