Despite a need for some scoring up front, the Humboldt Broncos stayed quiet at the SJHL's Jan. 10 trade deadline, opting to stand pat rather than shake things up.
Head coach and general manager Dean Brockman chose not to sacrifice any of the team's core of young players in hopes of slightly improving over the rest of this season.
"We didn't want to overpay," Brockman said three days after the deadline. "Giving up on a young guy to get marginally better, that's something we weren't willing to do."
Though discussions with other teams became serious at times, in each case something came up to scuttle any potential deals.
In his dual role as coach and general manager, Brockman must balance the team's immediate needs while never losing sight of the team's future prospects. It's a delicate struggle that is at the heart of team building everywhere from Saskatchewan to the NHL.
"I'm still thinking big picture all the time," he said.
While they were quiet at the trade deadline, the Broncos made moves earlier in the season; these included acquiring forwards Kyle Oleniuk from the Weyburn Red Wings and Brandon Long from the Drayton Valley Thunder of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL).
With the roster now set for the rest of the season, Brockman and his staff will have to find ways to coax more offence out of a group that has at times struggled to find the back of the net.
"We have guys that have scored at other levels, so we just have to hope that things start to break through," Brockman said.
The Broncos will take the ice tonight in Melfort against the Mustangs riding a three-game losing streak. With 18 games left in the regular season the Broncos, with 48 points, are tied with the Kindersley Klippers for second place in the Kramer Division.
In other Broncos' news, goaltender Ryland Pashovitz was named the Canadian Junior Hockey League's (CJHL) first star for the month of December.
Pashovitz finished the month with four wins and two shootout losses, all while posting a goals against average below one (0.97) and a save percentage of nearly 97 per cent. The first-year player has had an outstanding season thus far (11-2-3) and is currently leading the SJHL in both goals against average and save percentage; if he can maintain his current pace he will set SJHL records in both categories.
Pashovitz found out about the award when fellow goalie Cade Spencer retweeted a link to an article announcing the winners. Not one to loudly promote himself, Pashovitz has mostly let his game do the talking.
"I came in just hoping to make the team and work hard," he said, and then followed that up with one of the understatements of the year. "So far it's gone pretty well for me."
During a game, goalies are subjected to more psychological pressure than perhaps anyone else. There are long periods of nothing interrupted by flurries of activity. There can also be time to think about what's gone wrong; Pashovitz has been struggling slightly during the Broncos' current three-game losing streak.
"The first couple games back I was just thinking too much about where I was in the net," he said. "I wasn't trusting my reflexes like I usually do."
At only five-foot-ten, Pashovitz is a smaller player at a position now dominated by those six feet and up. He draws inspiration from Jhonas Enroth, a similarly diminutive goalie who is currently the backup for the Buffalo Sabres.
"I try to model my style after him," Pashovitz said. "He plays a lot bigger than he is and I try to do that too."
Whatever he's doing, it's working, and even quicker than his coach could have expected.
"His positioning is strong and he's always composed. Nothing rattles him," Brockman said. "That kind of composure usually doesn't come along until your second or third year."
