Dayne Henry (foreground) and his AAA Stars teammates are gearing up for the start of the 2023-24 hockey season. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Next stop, preseason

AAA Stars wrap fall camp, ready for 2023-24 hockey season

Aug 22, 2023 | 2:56 PM

With the start of the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) preseason just under three weeks away, the Battlefords U18 AAA Stars wrapped up their fall camp over the weekend, Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 19-20) at the Access Communications Centre.

While current rules require most of the team to be already solidified at this point, director of hockey operations with the team, Shawn Robinson said the weekend still provided a good chance to evaluate some prospects for the future, and see this year’s players in action for the first time this season.

“The fall camps have transitioned into more-or-less a black-and-white series, and it’s mostly to decide affiliation as the decisions for most roster players have to be made in June,” he said. “But we had a strong contingent of affiliation prospects come out, and as far as the roster goes we’re just looking for a goaltender, and that will play its way out into exhibition season.”

Defenceman/centre iceman, Dayne Henry is among the returning core of players on this year’s Stars’ roster, now heading into his third year with the team.

Coming off a ’22-23 season that saw him double his goal and point output from the year prior with 10 goals and 20 points in 42 games, he said he’s looking forward to continuing to develop his game this season, both on the ice and as a leader, now as one of the senior members of the team.

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“I’m really looking forward to it, I’ve never been in this position before to be one of the older guys on the team having a late birthday and all, so it’s going to be nice to help lead a team, and especially with some of the new signings here.”

With just five returnees from last year’s Stars team that finished eighth overall with an 18-22-0-4 record, the Battlefords look to be a youthful team once again, though as Henry points out, that doesn’t mean they won’t be pushing to compete every night.

“This is definitely a younger team this year, but I still think these younger guys are just as competitive as the older guys and at camp they all looked eager to play this year and hungry to have good start to the year, so I’m excited for that,” he said.

“My mindset for our team this year going in is to really be aggressive and get after it and [if we can], we can have a really good season.”

Among those making the jump to U18 AAA this year is North Battleford local, Lukamus Lehman.

Lukamus Lehman is coming off a standout final season of U15 AA last year, and will be among the first-years to watch with the AAA Stars this fall. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

The 15-year-old blue liner is coming off a breakout season in his final year of U15 AA with the NorthWest Stars, which saw him register 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists) in 30 games to finish second on the team in scoring. His play also earned the defenceman a four-game call-up with the AAAs at the end of the year, an experience he said only benefits him heading into this fall.

“It’s really just about getting to know the guys,” he said. “I went to a couple of practices too and they all treated me well, [head coach] Dale [Grayston] and the coaches treated me well, and that’s what makes a good hockey team, the [locker]room.”

In preparation for his first year of U18, Lehman, already a smooth skater with a penchant for strong two-way play, put his focus into the gym to get stronger; something he knows is imperative against bigger and older competition.

“The big jump is the age difference, you play so many years where it’s just the two years competing, and now you’ve got three years, you’ve got those big third years that will try to boss you around [with their size], but my job this year is to not let them,” he said.

“I feel good. I’ve gained a lot of strength over the summer, and it’s time to try to get more physical with the older guys. My first year is just going to be about trying my hardest there and trying until I can’t no more.”

The AAA Stars will open their preseason Sept. 10 against the Swift Current Legionnaires in Swift, with puck drop at 3 p.m. It will be the first of four exhibition games.

The Stars will then kick off their regular season schedule with back-to-backs Sept. 22 and 23 against the Moose Jaw AAA Warriors in Moose Jaw. Their regular season home opener will be Sept. 30, in the first of what will be back-to-backs at the ACC versus the Estevan Bears.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1