Written by Gary Moskalyk
The Red Lake Miners finished in fifth place with a 29-18-2 record in the 2023-24 regular season . Locked inside that .612 winning percentage was a +/- of +76. The Miners had a 23.3% powerplay and the SI’s best penalty kill at 85.5%.
A peruse through the 2024-25 roster reveals a surprise addition. Goaltender Trent Boryszczuk is back in the fold after an abbreviated five-game stint last year.
“Trent Boryszczuk, Koen Webber and Cameron Mann are our three goalies this year. I think we’re really happy with the group we have,” said head coach Lee Stone. “Obviously, Borzy’s been successful in the past (8-6-1 over two seasons, with a 3.55 GAA and .916 SV%). Mann’s coming out of the Thunder Bay Kings program and had some success with them. Koen was the top goalie in the JPHL last year (13-0-0 1.60 GAA .935 SV%). I’m really happy with our goaltending, there’s no question about it.”
Training camp has been “good” according to Stone, who also doubles as general manager.
“We’re busy for sure. There’s always that trickle down from the AJHL, MJHL and SJHL (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey Leagues). It’s always interested when you compare the start of the season to the start of camp. Things are rolling along smoothly. At this point we’re just excited to drop the puck on some real hockey,” said Stone.
The Miners packed in three exhibition games in short order: a win against Sioux Lookout and a pair of losses against Fort Frances and Dryden.
“For us, it was important to get in that third game. It just gives us a better understanding of how our group is and how they manage playing so many games (all on the road) in such short order.”
Stone and his staff had a look at different line combinations and opportunities.
It goes without question that the Miners are on a quest to win another championship. Lee expanded on the theme.
“The beauty of our league, even more so than last season I would argue–without having seen Ironwood or Kenora–is that Fort Frances very clearly has taken some steps,” said Stone. “They look ready to take that next step. It’s neat to see how close everyone is. Developing your team over the year, making the right decisions at the right time, is going to be a big part of who is successful at the end of the year.”
Joining Boryszczuk are returnees Kai Hughes, Bradyn Rowsell, Austin Derzaph, Justin Gelderland, Matt MacPherson, Bryson Carlyle, Noah Tenney, Foxx McColl, Nathan Dann, Landon van Engelen, Gabe Tanton and Carter Deschamps–plenty of pieces to build on.
Quinn Szpak is an exciting addition. Szpak sizzled last year for the St. Paul Canadiens of the NEABJHL, where he scored 37 goals in 30 games while adding 41 assists. He added seven goals and five helpers in seven playoff games to help the Canadiens win the Central Canada Cup.
“Very skilled player, very smart player. We’re very lucky he chose to come to our program,” said Stone. “Obviously he’ll help our powerplay and help us create some offence. I thought if there was something we needed to grow from our group last year we felt offence was probably it.”
Will Porter, Ty Barry, Timy Hanulik and Quintus Mah were four additional rookies cited by Stone as key signings. Jackson Tucker is a defensive style forward who had a two-game cameo with the Miners last season. Tucker signed on in early August.
Red Lake also appointed highly respected forward MacPherson as team captain.
“It’s super exciting to see every team in our league take a step over the summer. I truly believe our league last year was one of the more competitive years in history, top to bottom. I think it’ll only get more competitive this year,” said Stone.
“The other thing I would add is we have new leadership in our league. It’s exciting to see what Dean (Commissioner Thibodeau) has brought to the SIJHL. . . It’s exciting to see where he’ll take this league over the next couple of years.”
Red Lake hits the road taking on Ironwood in Michigan on September 13th and 14th at 7:00 p.m.