By Ron Valentine
As it turned out the fellow gentleman of a certain age sitting next to me at the CJHL Top Prospects game this season past in the Port Credit arena was the proud grandfather of Finn Evans.
Evans played two years in the Ontario Junior Hockey League for the St. Michael’s Buzzers and is now a member of the OTTAWA JUNIOR SENATORS, winners of the Fred Page Cup with a 10-1 unravelling of the College de Francais de Longueuil in Sunday’s Eastern Canada final. Finn did not score in the final but did chip in with four assists. Evans spent the opening part of the last campaign in Vernon with the Vipers of the BCHL but, his gramps noted, things did not work out there and he joined the Senators for the remainder of his season, ending with 28 points in 34 games.
The Jr. Senators of the CCHL (Central Canada Hockey League) came in first in the six-team (Steve) Yzerman Division with 99 points scoring 254 goals in the process, second only to the (Larry) Robinson Division-winning Carleton Place Canadians who netted 257. In the league playoffs for the Bogart Cup, it took them six games to dispose of the Pembroke Lumber Kings, seven to subdue the Brockville Braves and five in the final against top-ranked Carleton Place.
Veteran Chiwetin Blacksmith, who is heading to Carleton University in the fall, led the way in the regular season with 67 points in 59 games. The club boasted three 30-goal scorers in veteran Pierre Luc-Veilette (committed to NCAA D1 Lake Superior State) with 33, Captain Owen Guy with 32 and Nick Lalonde (NCAA D1 Robert Morris) on 30. A player besides Evans who may be familiar to OJHL fans is former Orangeville Flyer Conor Smart. Their goalkeeper,Connor Hicks, was a Trenton Golden Hawk in name only this season.
Head Coach and General Manager Martin Dagenais is in season four behind the bench for the Senators. He is excited to be headed out West, probably on Thursday, after a big final game performance to hoist the Fred Page Cup. He also notes the great rivalry they have with Carleton Place and says the players get up for the games against that team so the league final was a very big series. While there is animosity the two clubs have a mutual respect for each other, he says.
His team is based on speed and skill, he notes, not unlike the Wellington Dukes, but they can also play the physical game. He ran four lines for most of the gruelling 62-game regular season schedule so some of his top point producers could possibly have ended up with higher numbers but they are ready now with lots of energy left for the ‘main event’.
He has been focusing on his own club so has not got into the videos too much yet but is quite familiar with the Dukes as he coached several of their players for Team Canada East. Blueliner Geoff Lawson was their captain two seasons ago and has become an integral part of the Wellington club. After a somewhat up-and-down regular season the coach says that Evans really came through in the post-season and was named MVP of the playoffs in the CCHL.
Smart has a lot of speed, he says, and he likes that he can use him on the power-play and the penalty kill. He has basically had a secondary role this season and he looks for big things from him next campaign.
Their goaltending is in good hands with Hicks, he notes, citing his major Junior experience but they have a top-notch backup in 19-year old CCHL rookie Francis Boisvert and the coach knows he would hold up well if called upon.
Everyone is ready for the RBC, he says, noting that it will be a great experience for his players and if the guys are as enthusiastic as their mentor they should have a very successful tournament.
