For many young kids playing for the Broncos is a dream come true.
For a group of five players that dream became a reality this season.
“I’ve been watching them play for as long as I can remember. I’ve lived here almost my whole life so it’s something that I’ve definitely thought about doing for a long time. I always dreamed of playing for the Broncos and it’s been a special year,” noted goaltender Jacob Wassermann.
Wassermann, who recently captured the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Rookie of the Year, along with Morgan Gobeil, Blake Berschiminsky, Reagan Poncelet, and Jacob Leicht all found their way into the Broncos lineup this season, with each making their first full season foray into junior hockey.
“It’s a very big learning curve obviously. The guys are a lot older, stronger, faster,” noted Poncelet of the change from Midget AAA hockey where all of them, except Gobeil played last season, to junior A. “Just the way the game’s played it’s at a way higher pace, just even mentally and just trying to keep your head cool and keep your emotions in check.”
Gobeil elected not to move away from home last season and spent his year with the Midget AA Broncos.
The group of five have grown up playing together, most of them since they were five and have won multiple championships along the way.
Their most recent: a Midget AA league and provincial title to wrap up the 2015-2016 season.
Leicht, Wassermann, Poncelet, and Gobeil were all part of that winning team, while Berschiminsky was playing Midget AAA in Tisdale.
The year prior, the group of Leicht, Poncelet, Gobeil and Berschminisky won the Midget AA league title.
Wassermann, being a year younger was still playing Bantam AA.
Of course, the leap from Midget AAA hockey to junior A hockey is a large one, so having players who you know to go through it with makes the transition a lot easier, notes Berschminsky.
“Going into the room is always kind of weird at first not knowing anyone but this way we all knew each other, we all worked out and played together the past few years so it was nice to have some guys to go through it all with.”
It also makes things easier on the ice, notes Leicht.
“The chemistry has always been there. You never have to get used to playing with them again. Blake Berschiminsky and Reagan (Poncelet), I’ve always been on their line. We may not play together for a few months but every time we come back it feels like I always know where they are on the ice.”
That trio has been separated over the last couple of years, with Berschiminsky in Tisdale for the past two years, and last year with Leicht in Prince Albert, and Poncelet in Saskatoon with the Blazers.
Being able to get the band back together, so to speak, has been really fun, notes Leicht.
“After a few years of not playing with them, we’ve always been close and it’s been great playing with them. We have a lot of memories together that’s for sure. We’ve all won championships with one another and we know what it takes to win too and just we can go through our problems, whenever there is on the team.”
The quintet managed to get their feet wet this season, with each playing no fewer than 20 games.
The four skaters, while not offensive guys, still put up solid offensive numbers as rookies scoring ten goals and 19 assists.
Wassermann meanwhile, put forth a solid season for the Broncos, which ultimately led him to be named the league’s top rookie.
A lot of Wassermann’s action came early in the season with the green and gold, as he spent the majority of the second half bouncing back and forth between the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats and the Broncos.
In 28 games, the recently turned 18-year-old posted a 14-9-5 record with a 2.69 goals against and a .907 save percentage.
While there were five Humboldt natives on the team, the pipeline is far from bare as another Humboldt native, Mitchell Girolami, dressed as an affiliated player for a number of games this season as well.
Broncos defenseman Layne Matechuk also has ties to Humboldt as the Colonsay native played some minor hockey in Humboldt.
Of course, the regular season is now complete and the players are getting set to represent their hometown in the SJHL playoffs.
“It’s going to be really special I think. Hopefully we can get a pretty packed rink and get lots of (fans) out to support. I think having lots of local guys really, maybe helps around town getting (fans) out to the rink and supporting the team,” noted Gobeil.
The Broncos kick off the playoffs against the Melfort Mustangs with game one in Melfort on March 16.
“We want to bring a championship home and we feel that we’ve got the team to do it, that’s for sure,” noted Wassermann.
But what would it mean to be able to bring that championship home to Humboldt?
“You’d never forget that that’s for sure. We still talk about when the Broncos won the RBC in 2003, which is 15 years ago so you’d remember that for a life time. Especially in your home crowd it would never be forgotten. That would be amazing,” noted Leicht.
For most of the players, the 2003 cup win came too early in their childhood to really remember, but Poncelet notes he does remember the 2008 team, and says it would be “huge” to be able to follow in their footsteps.
“I remember watching the 2008 RBC Cup… and them bringing it home, it was just huge. It was the huge talk of the town for months and still has been talked about to this day so I think to do it again and having the amount of Humboldt prospects that we do have on this team I think it would just make it more special.”
Fans will have their first opportunity to get a look at Humboldt’s five natives when the Broncos return home for game three on March 20.
