Riley Dekowny (left) and Chase Gallant (right) - Photo courtesy Swift Current Legionnaires' Facebook page.

 

Two forwards have been given the opportunity to secure a roster spot on the Home Hardware Midget AAA Legionnaires. Swift Current's Riley Dekowny and Saskatoon's Chase Gallant were given that chance this week.

Dekowny started the 2017-18 season off with the Swift Current Abbey Resources Midget AA Broncos. The 15-year-old played eight games with the Midget Broncos scoring seven goals and adding three assists.

However, Dekowny broke his wrist in the eighth game and hasn't been back with the team since he last played on October 29.

The hometown product has played in four contests with the Legionnaires already this season - two prior to the wrist injury (September 27 vs. Moose Jaw Generals, October 7 vs. Battlefords Stars), and the two most recent contests (December 15 vs. Moose Jaw Generals, December 17 vs. Beardys Blackhawks).

Dekowny says he was glad to get back on the ice post-injury and start to find a rhythm again.

"Felt good to get back - I was nervous getting the first couple of shifts under my feet. Once I got going though, I just kept rolling."

The 5-foot-10 forward brings a well-balanced game to the Legionnaires.

"Riley comes in and he can bang around, he's not afraid to get to the puck first, but he also has skill - that was the key for us bringing him in here," said Legionnaires head coach Darren Evjen. "Going forward, we know that skill will help us throughout the next few years and we feel he'll be a good help and a good addition to our team."

Dekowny becomes the third member of last year's provincial-champion Kabos Bantam AA Broncos to lock up a roster spot. He joins forward Reed Jacobson and defenceman Mac Gross.

The trio of rookies, along with forward Hunter Lamb, who's tied for the team lead in points (39), make up the four non-imports on the roster.

Evjen says he looks forward to seeing more hometown players don the navy and gold of the Legionnaires -  if they prove to be the best available players in camp.

Meanwhile, fellow rookie Chase Gallant learned of the opportunity for his first full-time Midget AAA stint after a Midget AA game in Saskatoon.

"I just found out that Swift Current had called me back at the house - It was a stunner at first, didn't really know what to think. But I made the right decision coming here and I'm excited," he said.

Gallant has spent this season in the Centre Four Hockey League with Saskatoon Midget AA Sabrecats, racking up 20 points (9 G, 11 A) in 17 games.

He also has had exposure to the AAA level with the Saskatoon Contacts as an Affiliate Player (AP), although a secured roster spot is a lot more enjoyable to the 16-year-old.

"It's pretty exciting - It means a lot because I really wanted to play AAA at the start of the year, and that didn't happen for me," he said. "Now to have this opportunity to come here and play - it's obviously a big step from AA to AAA, and very exciting."

New surroundings lie ahead for the rookie forward, who downsizes from a city of 254,000 to call a city of 18,000 his temporary home.

"To be honest, I don't know much about Swift Current. It's new for me - really new," Gallant admitted, although mentioning the team is much less of an unknown to him.

"I know how good they are, the speed that comes with the team, and I think I can bring that - I think that I'll fit in decently here."

However, Gallant was far from an unknown for the Legionnaires coaching and scouting staff, as the 16-year-old caught the eye of head scout Rick Tabin.

"Rick was very high on Chase - he had a great start to the season in Midget AA and was one of the top Midget AA players in the province," said Evjen, the Legionnaires' bench boss. "Being that he's 16 years of age gives us two years with him. When we checked out the type of person he was, it fit into our identity and what we want to do going forward."

Both Dekowny and Gallant join a 16-9-0-3 Legionnaires team that's fifth in the Sask Midget AAA Hockey League standings and looks to return to Calgary's Mac's Midget AAA Tournament for the first time since 2003 - a year when the hometown Dekowny was just one year old.

"It feels good to be a part of the team that's finally been able to get to the Mac's."