Anything is possible at the Memorial Cup

Oil Kings head coach Laxdal savours 'unique life experience'

By John MacKinnon, Edmonton Journal

May 17, 2012

Derek Laxdal retains intense, if hazy, memories of playing in the Memorial Cup, back in 1983.

"All I know is that we won," said the Edmonton Oil Kings head coach, who was a rookie forward with the victorious Portland Winterhawks that Western Hockey League championship season.

"I was 16 then and it was all kind of a blur."

As slices of Canadiana go, the Memorial Cup, emblematic of the national major junior championship, is a career launching pad for some, the top of the hockey mountain for others, and almost always unforgettable for anyone lucky enough to compete in, or even attend.

It's a curious hockey tradition - a special, annual event that all fans can enjoy, but one your own team might rarely participate in, or perhaps not at all.

Roughly a quarter of the teams in the 22-team WHL have never competed in the tournament. Many have never played host to it.

The last time Shawinigan played host to the tournament was in 1985, when the Prince Albert Raiders won the title.

The final game that year, though, was played in Drummondville because the old Jacques Plante Arena, with its view-obstructing pillars and dim lighting, was unsuitable for television.

That won't be a problem this time around in the 5,000-seat Bionest Arena, located just across the parking lot from the old barn, built in 1936 and still standing.

The last time the Oil Kings played in the tournament was in 1972, the first year it was held in this format. The last time Edmonton won was in 1966, its second Memorial Cup title and the seventh year in a row the team was a finalist, back when the getting was good in their '60s heyday.

It's boom or bust in junior hockey and good luck trying to predict either extreme. In their five-year life as an expansion club, the Oil Kings have seen both sides. They made the playoffs twice in their first four years, but hadn't won a playoff game before this spring.

Two seasons ago, Edmonton staggered to a 16-win regular season; this season, the Oil Kings won 50 games, amassed 107 points.

"They were tough (times)," said Oil Kings captain Mark Pysyk. "I mean, 16 wins.

"We had 16 wins in the playoffs this year, we had 16 wins all year two years ago."

The Oil Kings, like the Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights, are said to be a year ahead of schedule advancing to the Memorial Cup.

If they are early, Pysyk and the Oil Kings aren't fighting the feeling.

Nor should anyone take for granted that this is the first of a series of visits to the national championship for the Edmonton club. Not that it cannot happen. Just don't bet on it.

Just ask the Portland Winterhawks, WHL finalists the last two years, losers both years despite icing excellent teams.

Still, rare as it is to make it this far, there can be a recurring rhythm to it, also.

Among the opponents Laxdal's Winterhawks faced in 1983 was Gerard Gallant, who played for the Verdun Juniors that year. Gallant is head coach of the defending champion Saint John Sea Dogs this time around.

The Knights, owned and operated by brothers Dale and Mark Hunter, are led by defenceman Jarred Tinordi, son of Mark Tinordi, who also played in the '83 tournament.

Laxdal sure understands how a Memorial Cup experience can be woven into a lengthy hockey career and what it meant for his, even as he was seeing limited ice time as a young forward on a team whose loaded lineup included Cam Neely, Ray Ferraro, Richard Kromm, Jim Playfair, and others.

"I tried to take a penalty so I'd get on TV," Laxdal said. "I want to make sure (all) the kids get to be a part of it."

To that end, Laxdal will rotate four lines, especially in the early going. If shortening his bench becomes necessary to win games, he'll do it, but all the Oil Kings players will see some action.

Laxdal is determined that his players be able to balance gunning for "another piece of hardware" with smelling the roses and enjoying a unique life experience.

"They're going to look back on this the rest of their career," Laxdal said. "I know I look back on the Memorial Cup. Every time it's on in the springtime, I always reflect on the memories. I think it's an outstanding achievement. I think it's going to be a great experience for these kids."

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Sautner enjoys dream season

By Greg Harder, Leader-Post

May 17, 2012

Ashton Sautner is amazed how far he has come in a short time with the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Now he's going a little further.

The rookie defenceman - along with the rest of his team - departed Wednesday morning for Shawinigan, Que., site of the 2012 Memorial Cup. The Oil Kings punched their ticket to the CHL championship tournament on Sunday by defeating the Portland Winterhawks 4-1 in Game 7 of the WHL final.

Edmonton opens the Memorial Cup on Friday against the host Shawinigan Cataractes, joining a field that also includes the OHLchampion London Knights and QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs.

"It's really unbelievable," offered Sautner, 17. "It doesn't even seem real, me playing midget last year and then coming to the WHL (and winning a league title as a rookie). Not very many guys get that opportunity. Some guys play five years in the league and don't even get a sniff at it. To be able to do it in my first year is such an honour."

An eighth-round pick in the 2009 WHL bantam draft, Sautner spent the 2010-11 season with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals before heading to Edmonton last fall in hopes of establishing himself at the next level.

Little did he know ... "It has been a roller-coaster ride, starting off just trying to make the team and stay in the lineup," said Sautner, who finished with 12 points in 59 regular-season games, plus two more points in 19 playoff contests.

"In the first half of the season I just kind of felt my way around, getting comfortable in the league. Second half I thought I really improved a lot. It's a lot different from midget (going from 44 games to 72). It's more like an NHL schedule. That was definitely a big adjustment but it has been great. I can't say enough about how lucky I am to be a part of this team."

Sautner feels even more fortunate considering the Oil Kings are enjoying their first taste of success since joining the league as an expansion franchise in 2007-08.

Heading into this season, the team had yet to win a single playoff round.

"Guys like Rhett Rachinski and Mark Pysyk and T.J. Foster have been around basically since the team started," noted Sautner. "They're so happy that it finally happened for us. We all know it's not done yet, though. We all want to go to Shawinigan and bring home that Memorial Cup."

Although his team still has plenty of work to do, the young defenceman has enjoyed the opportunity to reflect on a memorable journey which earned him a chance to hoist the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

In fact, he's still pinching himself.

"It was really a dream come true," added Sautner, whose father Blaine is a former head coach of the University of Regina Cougars men's hockey team.

"Being able to hold that trophy over my head as a rookie in this league, you can't put words to it. I was really speechless for a while there. I woke up the next morning and I had that feeling just knowing you're a champion. I couldn't be any happier to be with these guys.

"But our work is not done yet. We have one more Cup to win. We know we're going to Shawinigan and we're going to play some tough teams. Everyone believes we can do it. We won the WHL championship but we're not satisfied with that at all. We want the big prize."

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Flames pick Brossoit aims to be even better

Memorial Cup is next stage for Oil Kings goalie

By Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald

May 17, 2012 4:03 AM

Laurent Brossoit, a year ago, was thrilled to hear a single person utter his name.

The voice belonged to Calgary Flames director of scouting Tod Button, who had let the world know that the kid was the National Hockey League club's sixth-round selection.

Which was an awfully sweet moment.

Now?

The name-calling has been upgraded substantially, in numbers and volume. Brossoit knows the feeling of hearing thousands of fans screaming out his initials - "L.B.! L.B.! L.B.!" - at Rexall Place.

"They started a little L.B. chant whenever I make a half-decent save or a big save," said Brossoit, star netminder of the Edmonton Oil Kings. "It got pretty carried away (during the playoffs) and they started running with it. It wasn't (only) after saves, it was random. It's honestly the greatest feeling to have the support from so many fans. It's a pretty cool feeling to have that many people chanting your name. Definitely something to be proud of."

(Unlike his patchy playoff beard - "A dirt 'stache on my lip, a little something under my chin.")

The chanting is over - at least for this season - but the games are not. The Oil Kings edged the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Hockey League's championship series to earn a berth in the Memorial Cup, which will be contested far from adoring fans.

Wednesday morning, the Edmontonians travelled to Shawinigan, Que. But by now, Brossoit realizes, chants or not, that he's solid. Named most valuable player of the WHL final, the Surrey, B.C., native rattled off manly numbers during the Oil Kings' run to the championship tourney - 16-4 record, 2.04 goals-against average, .933 save percentage, two shutouts.

"You don't want to take too much time to think about that kind of stuff," said Brossoit, who turned 19 in March - and who, thanks to the playoff push (and 42-13-5 regular season), has muscled his way into Canada's world junior conversation. "It's a great accomplishment for myself, but we're not done. I'm going to wait till after the Memorial Cup to take a step back and take it all in.

"I'm going to build on the MVP that I got and hope I can play even better."

The Oil Kings open Friday against the host Cataractes. Monday, they face the Saint John Sea Dogs, and they conclude the round-robin Tuesday against the London Knights.

For Brossoit and his chums, there is zero familiarity with the enemy. Which is fine.

"Our focus is always on ourselves," said the six-foot-three, 205-pounder. "Obviously, we try to prepare and watch some video, try to find some tendencies of other teams, but our main focus is to focus on our game. We think we can beat anyone if we play our game to the best of our abilities.

"There's a lot of hype about how good those teams are. But you've got to go in there with swagger and realize that they're probably just as nervous to play us as we are to play them."

Brossoit was asked to speculate what the other contenders - Saint John and Shawinigan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, London of the Ontario Hockey League - might expect from the WHL's entry.

"I think they see the potential we have," he said. "How deep we are - every line that goes out there, we have faith that they can make something happen. We have a strong defensive core. And as long as I'm doing my part, everyone's looking at us as a brandnew, young team to be afraid of."

The WHL final had featured three plums from the Flames' cupboard - Brossoit for Edmonton; Sven Baertschi and Tyler Wotherspoon for Portland. But, during a tight sevengame series, none was caught daydreaming about a red-clad reunion on Saddledome ice.

"You have to do well in the present to get to the future, you know what I mean?" said Brossoit. "You have to do well now to play in the NHL. So I just focus on right now. You don't want to look too far ahead."

However, through the magic of Twitter, Flames boosters have expressed their love to @LBrossoit.

"You have a lot of Calgary fans showing their support, letting us know that they're watching," he said. "I didn't really get too nervous about it. I used it in a positive way."

C-NOTES: The Young Stars tourney in Penticton, B.C. - a rookiecamp event featuring the prospects of the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and Flames, among others - has been cancelled.

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