Huskies focused on building depth

Jun 23, 2022 | 2:56 PM

The 2022-23 U of S Huskie men’s hockey schedule was released on Wednesday. Saskatchewan will face the elite teams in the Canada West conference early in the season. After hosting Trinity Western in week one, Saskatchewan visits Calgary in the second weekend of the season, then travels to UBC in week three, followed by an October 21^st-22^nd home series against the defending conference champion Alberta Golden Bears. (The Calgary Dinos eliminated the Huskies in the first round of the 2022 playoffs, while UBC finished second in the standings last season.)

“That’ll be a good test for us right away, and show us where we are at”, said Saskatchewan associate coach Brandin Cote. Canada West teams also move back to a 28 game schedule for the 2022-23 season. Teams played just 20 games last season because of the pandemic. That’ll be really nice”, said Cote. “Last year, it was still hit and miss. There was a lot of times when it seemed like we didn’t’ get a lot of flow going.”

The Huskies settled for a fourth place finish in the Canada West standings with a 13 and 7 record. Saskatchewan was then eliminated by the Calgary Dinos in the first round of the playoffs. Injuries played a factor in Saskatchewan’s struggles last season. “We got depleted right at the wrong time”, said Cote. Defenseman Gordie Ballhorn and Connor Hobbs, along with forwards Justin Ball, Dawson Holt and Wyatt Johnson were among the players that missed significant time with injuries. “If you look at all those guys that we lost, it hurts you”, continued Cote.

Partly because of injuries, the top priority in this off season has been to add depth to the roster. “What that looks like, we are still working on that”, said Cote. Like most other university teams, Cote and the Saskatchewan coaching staff have been doing a lot of scouting and making a lot of phone calls to potential newcomers to the program.

This is the Huskie men’s hockey team home schedule: