2015/16 Minor Midget Record: 21-9-3 (3rd Place)
2015/16 Final Result: Lost in 4 to Windsor in Quarter-Finals
2015/16 Major Bantam Record: 14-14-2 (5th Place)
2015/16 Final Result: Lost in 7 to Sun County in Quarter-Finals
The Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs have been a staple atop the Minor Midget standings for quite some time now and with some added defensive strengths added over the off season, look for the Chiefs to once again be in the upper half of the standings.
The Minor Midget Chiefs of last year didn’t get off to the greatest start to the season. Some may recall some games from the Showcase where Elgin-Middlesex didn’t quite have it all together at that point. That was early though and things changed quite rapidly for the Chiefs. When forwards Jake Murray, Aidan Reid and Wes Dobbin finally got things going, the Chiefs were without a doubt a top five team in the league. While their season ended early against an under rated Windsor team, Elgin was still a team not many wanted to play against.
The bantam team last season was right on the cusp of becoming one of the top teams once again. Finishing 5th in the overall standings, the Chiefs just couldn’t get on that streak to get into the conversation with the likes of London and Waterloo. While they were just outside the elite, they proved their worthiness by taking a tough Sun County Panther team to seven games in their quarter-final series.
This season, I can see the Chiefs being the type of team that plays in a lot of tight, low scoring games. Back in net are both Brant Galbraith and Liam McCarthy, but it is the blue line that stacks up large against the league. Returning is Mark Wooley and Michael Van Loon, the latter having a cup of coffee with the 2000 team last season. In addition to those two, Jake Weston makes his way over from the Huron-Perth club and he is another player who had a couple games up at the Minor Midget level last season.
On offense, the Chiefs will still be led by the big and strong Ian Lutowicz up front, but it appears they will be without their other top forward from a year ago, Nicolas Churchill. To replace Churchill is another Laker player, Carter McLlwain as well as a couple players from the London Jr. Knight system.
The Chiefs will be a tough team to score against this season and with a coaching staff that has a pedigree for winning programs, the Chiefs should once again find themselves knocking on the doorstep of the upper echelon of the Alliance.
2016/17 Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs Roster:
Brant Galbraith
Liam McCarthy
Jake Weston
Mark Wooley
Michael Van Loon
Wesley Poirier
Bryce Kilbourne
Robert White
Jacob Howard
Ian Lutowicz
Navrin Mutter
Brayden Smith
Dylan Vandersleen
Jakob Marche
Russel Oldham
Hunter Monkhouse
Carter McLlwain
Noah Kim
