The St. Albert pipeline is flowing freely into Lloydminster as multiple members of the U18 AAA Raiders are in the junior A Bobcats’ prospects pool.
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The Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Bobcats signed two of those Raiders, defencemen Kyle Jamieson and Jett Toma, even before Lloyd’s 80-man prospects camp in mid-April. At the end of that camp, the Bobcats inked another graduating Raider, forward Jadon Fischer, and they also invited a younger Raider — 2010-born forward Nolan Kelbert — to return for their spring camp, set for the June 5-7 weekend in Lloydminster.
“Me, Jett and Kyle have been close friends since we were little,” Fischer said about his connection with Toma and Jamieson. “We played winter hockey and spring hockey together.
“Continuing that relationship (at the junior A level), it’s amazing. It’s awesome. It’s actually pretty cool.”
Toma complimented Kelbert, too, for becoming a solid candidate for the Bobcats’ program in coming seasons.
“He would definitely benefit from another year in U18, in my opinion, but him making it to the top-40 camp at age 15, that’s pretty friggin’ good,” Toma said. “It definitely keeps eyes on him, for sure. I just wish the best for him with everything. He’s not scared of anyone. No matter their size or strength, he’ll go into a corner and get body on them, no matter how big someone is. He just doesn’t stop working. He’s got a great work ethic.”
Toma and Jamieson, both big defencemen, played together as D partners frequently during the past season with St. Albert.
“Yeah, we did, and even when we were younger,” Toma said. “We’ve always been together. He was right, I was left, and even this year we played with each other quite a bit. We just know where each other are at all times and we just have a feel for each other. It’s pretty nice to know that he’s in the same place as me, and hopefully we can play together again.”
Fischer is another familiar face making his way to the Border City. He was the Raiders’ second-leading scorer this year, with 17 goals and 34 points in 38 regular-season games, along with two goals and four points in five playoff contests.
“Yeah, he was a goal-scorer, for sure,” Toma said of Fischer. “He’s got a great skill-set. Not many people have the same skill-set as him, and he’s pretty strong. People bounce off him quite a bit. He’s a smaller guy, (but) he’s a great player and a great person.”
Fischer was particularly effective this season against the Lloydminster Lancers. He scored six goals and 10 points in four head-to-head games versus Lloyd during the regular season and he added another goal and an assist in their two playoff matchups.
“Yeah, I definitely had some good games against them,” Fischer said with a chuckle.
He scored four goals, including the overtime winner, last October in a comeback victory at Lloydminster, where he also netted the series-winning goal in their February playoff battle.
Now, the Spruce Grove resident hopes to create more Lloyd memories as part of the Bobcats’ organization.
Earlier this month, Fischer participated in the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships at Regina. He earned a silver medal as part of Team Alberta, which lost 5-3 to Manitoba in the U18 boys’ championship game. Overall, both finalists posted 5-1 records.
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