Applejacks utilize offseason player movement change to recruit

Lebold expects elevated play from entire division

By Lee Griffi

The Wellesley Applejacks finished fourth in the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s (PJHL) Doherty Division last season and a solid playoff run has the head coach optimistic about this year’s campaign.

Head coach Derek Lebold said the team lost nearly a dozen players after last season.

“We have a lot of new faces. Our management team did a fantastic job and it was a busy offseason. There were some new rules implemented with some dropdowns from junior B. I think every team was working the phones a lot in June and July.”

He added the three veterans Wellesley was able to acquire through the loosening of transfer rules will give the team a boost.

“We knew them from the Kitchener-Waterloo area, so we have a high degree of comfortability bringing them in.”

Among the new faces is six-foot-two, 225-pound, Waterloo native Ian Speiran from the Elmira Sugar Kings who has three assists in two games. Speiran’s teammate, Rhyse McCloskey, has also joined the team along with Ian Gedney who was a part of a strong St. Marys Lincolns team last season. Riley Noble also has several years of junior experience, playing two seasons in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) and two more in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL).

“I was skeptical about the rule change at first,” Lebold said. “I thought it was going to create a lot of discrepancy in skill level but every team in our division did a phenomenal job in our division looking at the guys they got. For the overall fan experience, it is going to be fantastic hockey.”

Lebold added the pace against Woodstock on Friday night was as fast as he’s seen around the league since each team has three or four more players with a higher level of junior experience.

“It’s a good thing for the league, overall. I am always going to be an advocate for letting guys play hockey as long as they can and the rule allows for players to age out at 21 in the PJHL. Overall, I think it’s going to be a good thing,” he added.

Wellesley played in front of nearly 700 fans in Woodstock to open the season, though Lebold figured it was a few hundred more than the official number. The Applejacks won the Schmaltz Cup three seasons ago at the Woodstock District Community Complex, something Lebold, as an assistant with Wellesley at that time, has fond memories of.

“It’s a great atmosphere, that’s a great hockey team and we are excited about the opportunity to answer back on Saturday at home against them.”

Overall, Lebold said he and his staff are pleased with the team’s first two games but there is certainly room for improvement.

“We had leads in both games and wanted to establish ourselves more defensively. We had a 3-2 lead in Friday’s game (against Woodstock) and spotted them five goals with some undisciplined play, so we have a lot to learn from in that regard.”

Wellesley had a 2-0 lead on Saturday against New Hamburg before letting the Firebird tie it up, though the Applejacks did win in overtime.

“I was really proud of the resiliency our guys showed and it’s never easy on the tail end of a back-to-back against two good teams to open the season. They showed a lot of passion to win a hockey game in that one.”

The only change in the Wellesley coaching staff is the return of Brock Gerber, who led the team to the PJHL title a few seasons ago as general manager.

“He’s going to help with the forwards as an assistant coach. We’ve brought some additional experience and he’s been great so far.”