ESTEVAN — Rorey Elson has another reason to be excited for the start of the SJHL season.
The 20-year-old forward from Chatam, Ont., was named the Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins’ captain on Sept. 19. Rylan Williams, Ewan Rennie and Ethan Andrews will be the alternate captains.
Elson is in his second season with the Black and Gold, and is one of just six returning players from last year’s team.
“It was just truly an honour. I don’t really have words to express the amount of excitement that I have just to lead the boys, especially in such a great city,” he said in an interview with SaskToday.
Adding to the significance is that the leadership team was selected by Elson’s teammates.
“The coaches, they have been helping me out with it, just which way we want to lead the boys, but obviously when it comes from your teammates, you know that they really want you to be their leader,” said Elson.
The three alternate captains are all 20 year olds and are really good guys, he said.
Elson vows he is going to take what he has learned from leaders in the past, dating back to his days in junior B. He recalls having a couple of leaders who guided him the right way, and he wants to do the same in Estevan.
“I think one of the big things is I’m pretty vocal. Obviously on the bench ... when we were getting down a little bit, I was just making sure the boys had a cool head on ... and I also think I lead with my on-ice play, just by hard work.”
Head coach and general manager Drew Kocur said Elson had a great finish to last season and a strong offseason.
“He came into camp ready to rock. The way he is in the community, at the rink, on the ice and at the gym, people would think he’s from Saskatchewan, even though he’s from Ontario, just the way he plays. He’s blue collar and he’s the right guy for the job,” said Kocur.
Elson won three awards last season: the team’s Mr. Hustle and the Bruin training staff’s Heart Award, and he shared the Mark Cross Ethics Award with Hayden Pimm.
The Bruins opened the season by splitting a home-and-home series with the Melville Millionaires. Melville won 5-3 on home ice Sept. 19, but the Bruins responded with a 5-3 win the following night at Affinity Place. After Melville scored twice in the first to take a 2-0 lead, Williams and Cole Dupuis scored to tie the game, and Andrews tallied early in the third to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead. The Mills replied with three goals in 4:33 to win.
Dupuis’ goal was his first in the SJHL.
Former Estevan U18 AAA Bears defenceman Boston Harkness had two goals and an assist for Melville.
Estevan had a 4-0 lead in the second game, with Kade Stringer scoring in the first, Chase Holt in the second, and Elson and Andrews tallying early in the third. Melville scored three times in five minutes in the third to pull within one, but Colton Getzlaff scored into an empty net with 1.7 seconds to play to finish the game.
Dylan Adams was in goal both games for Estevan, making 44 saves the first game and 29 the second. Several of his saves in the win came in the final minutes when Melville pressed to tie.
“Obviously yesterday we didn’t have the outcome that we wanted, so today we had to really bounce back,” said Elson, who believes the team is coming together well amid all the new faces.
Up next for the Bruins is another home and home, as they will play the Weyburn Red Wings. Sept. 26 in Weyburn and the following night in Estevan. The latter game is at 7 p.m.
