Playoff prognostication is problematic at the best of times, but predicting a long first-round series between the Lloydminster Bobcats and Grande Prairie Storm would be considered a safe bet in most Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) circles.
Read more: Offence from defence aids Bobcats
Just three points separated the North Division’s second-place Storm (38-15-2) and the No. 3 Bobcats (34-14-7) in the regular season, and home-ice advantage for the playoff matchup wasn’t confirmed until last weekend.
A year ago, Lloyd finished a mere one point behind Grande Prairie, while both teams occupied the same positions in the North as this season, but the Storm went on to sweep their opening-round series in four straight games.
This year, Grande Prairie has been on a hot streak for virtually the entire second half of the season, and Lloydminster has been built for a playoff run, so the matchup appears to be tighter this time around.
“Last year, we were 5-1 against them in the regular season, and obviously got swept in playoffs,” said Kael Screpnek, a second-year Bobcat and the team’s second-leading scorer.
“Then, this year, we were 1-5 against them in the regular season. So, (possibly) some foreshadowing there.”
That head-to-head discrepancy for this season isn’t as great as that record might suggest, considering that three of Lloydminster’s losses against Grande Prairie came in overtime or a shootout.
“I think the strategy to beating them is we’ve just got to play harder than them,” said Screpnek, a 19-year-old forward from Calgary.
“They’re a big team. We’re a big team. We’ve just got to outlast them and grind the game harder than they do, and get in front of their goalie, because he’s a pretty good goalie.”
The Storm’s No. 1 goaltender is Leland Gill, and his backup is the capable Hudson Perry. Neither was with Grande Prairie last season.
‘A LOT OF TALL TREES’
A former Storm defenceman, Owen Hutzul, believes this year’s GP-Lloyd matchup could be a long series.
“Yeah, for sure, I think so,” said Hutzul, now of the Olds Grizzlys. “It’ll be a grind.
“GP is pretty physical. I mean, Lloyd is massive. They’ve got a lot of tall trees back there (on defence). If they play physical, I think they can take it to GP. Lloyd is a really good team, so I think anything can happen.”
The Storm traded Hutzul, a 19-year-old Edmontonian, to Olds this past December. Last spring, he was part of Grande Prairie’s push to the AJHL final and a berth in the Centennial Cup national championship.
“It was a quick one, but it was really competitive,” he said about the Storm’s first-round sweep of the Bobcats last March. “Lloyd had a lot of fans in the building (in the swan song for the Civic Centre). So did GP at home. It was pretty electric.”
The newest Storm defenceman, Reily Pickford, is no stranger to Lloydminster. He’s from Chauvin, Alta., and played U18 AAA hockey in Lloyd with four of the current hometown Bobcats — Brady Gamble, Jaxan Hopko, Oakley McIlwain and Landen Ward.
The 18-year-old Pickford has fashioned a 25-point season, split between Grande Prairie and the Camrose Kodiaks. He has flourished with the Storm, scoring four goals and 15 points in 19 games.
“My offensive game has picked up quite a bit since the trade,” Pickford said. “It feels amazing to score once in a while.
“The way GP plays, for me, I like it a lot more than the way Camrose plays, team-wise. I would say GP is more like a puck-possession team.”
Pickford’s defence partner with the Storm has been 20-year-old Matthew Gillard.
Grande Prairie’s bountiful 2026 has coincided with Pickford’s arrival. In the 20 games since his debut in mid-January, the Storm have posted a 17-2-1 record.
Although it’s convenient for his family to see him play in a series against a team from closer to home, Pickford isn’t attaching any extra significance to facing Lloyd in the playoffs.
“I wouldn’t say it would mean anything different than playing any other team, personally,” he said. “No difference at all.
“Obviously, you play differently depending on the other team’s structure and the way they like to play, and their top guys, but that’s really all I’m focused on.”
Lloyd and GP each won two games last weekend to finish the regular season.
On the road, the Bobcats posted 2-1 victories over the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in a shootout Saturday and the Bonnyville Pontiacs on Friday, extending Lloyd’s winning streak to six games.
In front of a combined 3,756 fans, the Storm scored 8-1 and 4-1 wins over the visiting Drayton Valley Thunder. The Storm elected to rest multiple regulars in Saturday’s rout.
Lloydminster hasn’t lost since a 6-5 overtime defeat at Grande Prairie on Feb. 27.
BOBCATS 2 OIL BARONS 1 (SHOOTOUT): Affiliated goaltender Carsten Leyerzapf made 24 saves through the overtime period, and two more in the shootout, to win his AJHL debut. Leyerzapf and his Edge U18 prep teammate, forward Luke Jamieson, joined the Bobcats after the CSSHL playoffs.
McIlwain and Tucker Robertson scored Lloyd’s shootout goals. Jadon Iyogun, the Bobcats’ top scorer, netted a power-play goal with 7:21 left in the third period to force extra time.
Fort Mac captain Drew Freer opened the scoring 12 seconds into the middle period.
The Oil Barons’ Brendan Gee stopped 37 of 38 shots, including overtime.
Leyerzapf became the seventh goalie to play for Lloydminster this season. Three others dressed as backups, but didn’t see action.
BOBCATS 2 PONTIACS 1: In the final game of the year for Bonnyville, Jack Ferguson scored the winning goal for Lloyd late in the second period. The Bobcats’ Raphael Messier and Pontiacs’ Maxwell Pendy, on the power play, exchanged first-period goals.
Ty Matonovich, with 20 saves, and Screpnek both returned to Lloyd’s lineup Friday, after injuries had sidelined them for a couple of weeks.
Nathan Salisbury stopped 26 shots for Bonnyville, and his backup was Marwayne’s Stran Edge of the U18 AAA Lloydminster Lancers.
It was the 200th and final AJHL game for Pontiacs’ 20-year-old forward Brent Hoshowski, who played his U18 AAA and U15 AAA hockey in Lloydminster. It was also the last junior game for ex-Bobcat Ben Costantino, the Pontiacs’ defenceman/forward who last week committed to the Dalhousie University Tigers in Halifax.
Bonnyville played without AJHL rookie-of-the-year candidate Gavin Harrison, the just-turned 17-year-old forward promoted to the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos. The Cold Lake kid netted 28 goals and 59 points in 52 games with the Pontiacs.
AJHL PLAYOFFS
North Division best-of-seven semifinal
Grande Prairie Storm
(38-15-2 record, 78 points, 2nd in North)
vs.
Lloydminster Bobcats
(34-14-7 record, 75 points, 3rd in North)
VENUES: Bonnetts Energy Centre, Grande Prairie; Cenovus Energy Hub, Lloydminster.
SCHEDULE
Game 1 — Friday, March 20, Lloyd at GP, 7 p.m.
Game 2 — Saturday, March 21, Lloyd at GP, 6 p.m.
Game 3 — Tuesday, March 24, GP at Lloyd, 7 p.m.
Game 4 — Wednesday, March 25, GP at Lloyd, 7 p.m.
x-Game 5 — Friday, March 27, Lloyd at GP, 7 p.m.
x-Game 6 — Sunday, March 29, GP at Lloyd, 5 p.m.
x-Game 7 — Tuesday, March 31, Lloyd at GP, 7 p.m.
x — denotes if necessary.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
2025-26 season series
Grande Prairie Storm (5-1) vs. Lloydminster Bobcats (1-2-3)
Nov. 16 (at Lloyd) — Storm 4, Bobcats 3 (shootout).
Dec. 12 (at GP) — Storm 3, Bobcats 2 (overtime).
Dec. 13 (at GP) — Storm 2, Bobcats 0.
Jan. 3 (at Lloyd) — Bobcats 5, Storm 4.
Jan. 23 (at Lloyd) — Storm 5, Bobcats 1.
Feb. 27 (at GP) — Storm 6, Bobcats 5 (overtime).
TOP SCORERS
2025-26 regular season
Grande Prairie Storm
Colin Doherty 53 GP, 25 G, 34 A, 59 points
Max Leduc 52 GP, 20 G, 35 A, 55 points
Braeden Veldhuizen 43 GP, 18 G, 27 A, 45 points
Will Harris 46 GP, 15 G, 21 A, 36 points
Lloydminster Bobcats
Jadon Iyogun 48 GP, 24 G, 19 A, 43 points
Kael Screpnek 50 GP, 14 G, 28 A, 42 points
Raphael Messier 47 GP, 12 G, 29 A, 41 points
Kade Fendelet 47 GP, 17 G, 23 A, 40 points
Jaxan Hopko 54 GP, 12 G, 28 A, 40 points
TOP-SCORING DEFENCEMEN
2025-26 regular season
Grande Prairie Storm
Connor Frost 50 GP, 5 G, 21 A, 26 points
Reily Pickford 46 GP, 6 G, 19 A, 25 points
Lloydminster Bobcats
Jaxan Hopko 54 GP, 12 G, 28 A, 40 points
Dylan Deets 52 GP, 3 G, 11 A, 14 points
50-GAME CLUB
Grande Prairie and Lloydminster players who played 50 or more games during the 55-game regular season:
Grande Prairie Storm (6)
Colin Doherty, 53 games
Chase Christensen, 52 games
Max Leduc, 52 games
Max Fogle, 51 games
Matthew Lysyk, 51 games
Connor Frost, 50 games
Lloydminster Bobcats (6)
Gus El-Tahhan, 55 games
Jaxan Hopko, 54 games
Quinn Smith, 52 games
Luke Dooley, 51 games
Brady Gamble, 51 games
Kael Screpnek, 50 games
OVERAGERS
(20-year-old players)
Grande Prairie Storm (8)
Chase Christensen, F
Colin Doherty, F
Matthew Gillard, D
Leland Gill, G
William Haley, D
Will Harris, F
Ethan Kronewitt, F
Zachary Wilson, F
Lloydminster Bobcats (6)
Gus El-Tahhan, F
Kade Fendelet, F
Jadon Iyogun, F
Ty Matonovich, G
Oakley McIlwain, D
Trent Peterson, G
HONOUR ROLL
Both the Grande Prairie Storm and Lloydminster Bobcats are represented among the finalists for this season’s AJHL awards:
Storm — Chris Schmidt is one of four nominees for coach of the year; Zachary Wilson is among four candidates for most dedicated player.
Bobcats — Jaxan Hopko is one of four finalists for outstanding defenceman.
HEAD COACHES
Both the Grande Prairie Storm and Lloydminster Bobcats’ coaches went all the way to the Centennial Cup last year — Chris Schmidt with AJHL runner-up Grande Prairie and Eric Labrosse (now of Lloyd) with the MJHL champion Northern Manitoba Blizzard.
Storm — Schmidt is a 50-year-old native of Beaverlodge, near Grande Prairie. He has been on the junior A Storm coaching staff for five seasons, including the past two years as head coach. He’s a finalist for AJHL coach of the year.
Bobcats — Labrosse, 45, is from Montreal. He replaced Jeff Woywitka as the Bobcats’ coach last spring, after guiding Northern Manitoba to the MJHL championship as the Blizzard’s coach and general manager.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
At the World Junior A Hockey Challenge in December at Trois-Rivieres, Que., Bobcats’ forward Raphael Messier and coach Eric Labrosse were part of the silver-medal-winning Canada West team, along with two current members of the Storm — defenceman Matthew Lesyk and forward Max Leduc.
Also representing the Bobcats and Storm in that international tournament were three Canada West players who later left their AJHL teams — Grande Prairie defenceman Noah Chadi (Red Deer, WHL) and Lloydminster defenceman Esteban Cinq-Mars (Val-d’Or, QMJHL) and forward Matthew Hikida (Okotoks, BCHL).
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Grande Prairie Storm — Leland Gill posted a 24-win season after joining the Storm from Ontario junior A league’s Burlington Cougars. Hudson Perry, a local goaltender from Sexsmith, Alta., provided solid relief all year. Perry spent last week in the WHL during the Brandon Wheat Kings’ swing through Alberta, but he has since returned to Grande Prairie.
Lloydminster Bobcats — After season-long shuffling in the Bobcats’ net, Lloyd’s main man became Ty Matonovich, who joined the team in November from the SJHL. The 20-year-old Calgarian went on to record some of the AJHL’s best goaltending statistics — a 2.44 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Matonovich’s backup, ex-NAHL goalie Trent Peterson, came on board in February after Jaiden Sharma left Lloyd and returned to the BCHL.
LAST SEASON’S PLAYOFFS
Grande Prairie and Lloydminster also faced off in the opening playoff round last year, as the Storm swept the Bobcats, who were playing their final official games at Lloyd’s Centennial Civic Centre.
The Storm also swept the Whitecourt Wolverines in the North final but lost the AJHL championship series 4-0 to the Calgary Canucks, the eventual Centennial Cup national champions. Grande Prairie joined host Calgary as the Alberta representatives in the 10-team Centennial Cup. The Storm posted a 2-2 record in the national championship tournament.
ELSEWHERE IN THIS YEAR’S PLAYOFFS
North Division
Whitecourt Wolverines (39-13-3) vs. Fort McMurray Oil Barons (30-17-8)
South Division
Canmore Eagles (32-19-4) vs. Calgary Canucks (25-25-5)
Drumheller Dragons (28-20-7) vs. Camrose Kodiaks (28-24-3)
