Klippers vs. Yorkton preview

First things first - I do know Cody Lund is in Kindersley and has practiced with the team. I do not know if he's playing tonight. With eight healthy defencemen and a trip to Nipawin and Melfort on the weekend, there isn't a real urgency to get him in there tonight if Larry feels he could use a little more time to adjust. When he does play, he'll be sporting number four - ironically the number worn last year by David Ahl, the player traded for him.

Yorkton (7-4-1-2) has held down first place in the Sherwood for a good chunk of this young season. They have also played more games than any other SJHL team (four more than the Klippers) and have lost three straight at home. Now, those losses came to pretty good teams - La Ronge, Estevan and Weyburn - but it's still not the ideal way to go into a nine-game road trip.

But who expected the Terriers to sit atop the division before the season started? Certainly not the handful of people in Yorkton that I talked to.

The question, of course, was whether the Dogs could score enough goals. Gone were late-season additions Troy Smukowich and Ryan Griffiths, who helped kick-start their offence in the playoffs. The only really notable returnees up front were Rylan McDonell and Brent Struble.

Then Clarke Breitkreuz and Robbie Ciolfi were returned from the WHL, then B.C. Junior B import Zak Majkowski went on a tear from the beginning.

The back end has been a strength for the Terriers, and the loss of Clark Byczynski and Drew McDermott as futures in the Smukowich trade - plus losing Austin Bourhis to Prince Albert - were big blows. Yet the presence of vets like Blaine Tendler and Kurtis Decker, and the emergence of 17-year-old Devon McMullen, have softened the blow.

And Devin Peters is Devin Peters: one of the best tenders in the league. Maybe the best.

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I had a conversation with someone close to the team the other day about when cuts will come and what they might look like. With the addition of Lund, the Klippers now have 15 healthy forwards (plus Dommett), eight defencemen and two goalies for a total of 25 healthy players.

The problem is every player has made a strong case for himself to stick. That includes the logjam up front as well as rookie defencemen Jeff Bartel and David Haaf.

After spending some time mulling over the possibilities, we came to the conclusion that the most likely action will be cutting two or three forwards and no defencemen, allowing Riley Down to move up front.

That's nothing but speculation, and there are many options for Larry Wintoneak - none of them exactly desirable given the way these kids are playing.

Final note: Andrew Dommett was scheduled to have the wires removed from his jaw today. I'm not expecting to see him tonight, but if I do I'll see how things went with the doc.