It鈥檚 only preseason, but the Yorkton Terriers went 4-0 through the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League warm-up.
The wins are nice, but Terrier head coach Trent Cassan said the process of evaluating talent far outweighs the wins and losses in preseason.
鈥淣o year I鈥檝e been here could I tell you what the preseason record was,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd, this will soon be forgotten too.鈥�
While Cassan may have a short memory regarding preseason scores, he was still happy with the way the players rolled up their four wins.
鈥淭he guys want to play for the opportunity,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey played physical with a little bit of an edge 鈥� You could see it was important for them to win. They came together as a team.鈥�
Cassan reminded this season鈥檚 roster is a wide open one, and added players seemed to recognize that through their preseason effort.
鈥淭here are opportunities for guys not just to make the team but for players to get a lot of responsibility in different roles,鈥� he said.
The effort through preseason leaves Cassan with options.
鈥淭here is some hard decisions to make,鈥� he said.
The Terriers head into the regular season Friday as they travel to Weyburn, then host the same Red Wings Saturday.
Cassan said they鈥檒l carry a fairly large roster into the regular season, adding they have three forwards with injuries which will keep them out of the equation opening weekend.
鈥淪o we鈥檒l have a few more forwards around than usual,鈥� he said.
Cassan said he expects to head into the regular season with two net minders, nine defence men and 17 forwards.
And Cassan said he wants to see players in action when results count.
鈥淲e still need to see some guys in regular season games,鈥� he said, adding the games take on a different level with points on the line.
Through the rest of September the Terriers have only weekend games, which will mean more practice time midweek.
鈥淭he evaluation goes on,鈥� said Cassan, who added in preseason there isn鈥檛 a lot of time to put systems into play with so many new players. So with added practice time ahead they鈥檒l start to work in more patterned plays.
Cassan said through the early part of the season he will of course take as many wins as they can get, but added a more general goal is 鈥渂y the end of the month to see progress from the guys that are with us.鈥�
