Damon McKenzie of Kindersley, one of the recent 2018-19 signees for the Iron Horse Kindersley Klippers, digs for a loose puck while playing for the Battlefords Stars AAA midgets in a game last season against the Swift Current Legionnaires.
Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
The Iron Horse Kindersley Klippers have been busy in the offseason. The team has just announced a three-player trade and its signees for the 2018-19 season.
The Klippers announced a three-player deal with the Drumheller Dragons on July 4 and the team acquired a pair of players from Drumheller for defenceman Brendon Borbely, a 19-year-old. The team picked up a forward and a defenceman in the trade, and the players are twins.
Kindersley acquired forward Nate Keeley and defenceman Clay Keeley from the Dragons, a pair of 20-year-old role players. Nate has played 103 games in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, and Clay has played 118 games in the AJHL.
The Klippers also announced their most recent signees on June 28 with a total of nine players inking their rights with the hockey club. The group of players includes Kindersley’s Damon McKenzie, a 5’10 forward that scored 19 goals and 31 points in 44 games for the Battlefords Stars AAA Midgets last season, and Kerrobert’s Brett Neumeier, a six-foot forward that comes from the Tisdale Trojans AAA Midget program.
The team’s other signees are Nathan Engle, a 6’2 forward from Rosemary, Alta., Thomas Hiller, a 5’10 forward from Calgary, Jake Koroluk, a six-foot defenceman from Prince Albert, Tyson Laduke, a 5’11 forward from Okotoks, Alta., Robert Michetti, a 6’3 goaltender from Fort McMurray, Matthew Pesenti, a 5’10 goaltender from Saskatoon, and Troy Kosmynka, a 5’9 defenceman from Warman, Sask. Eight of the nine signees were born in 2000 and Pesenti was born in 2001.
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Pesenti is a prospect for the Regina Pats, so he is anticipated to attend the team’s camp and start the season with the WHL team. The Klippers own the Junior A rights to Pesenti if the WHL does not pan out for the goaltender.
Borbely spent the 2017-18 season with the Klippers and the 185-pound defenceman had one goal and 11 assists in 57 games in the regular season. The Keeley twins are both listed at 5’11 and 170 pounds. Nate has 19 points in his AJHL career while Clay has amassed 16 points in the AJHL.
Clayton Jardine, head coach and general manager of the Klippers, said the team’s head scout did his homework on the Keeley brothers and the team is happy with the acquisitions. He said the brothers bring a lot to the table.
“Anytime that you can bring in over 200 games played in the AJHL, you’re going to do it,” the coach said, recognizing that he has only heard good things about Nate and Clay. “With 200 games in the AJHL, you bring in a lot of experience and you bring in a lot of leadership.”
He noted that leadership and chemistry is a huge part of the game, and he believes the brothers will add to the team’s overall chemistry in a positive way. Nate and Clay have not been known for their offensive prowess, but they have strong qualities.
Jardine said the brothers also have more than 30 combined games of playoff experience in the AJHL, so it is another valuable asset they bring to the team. He recognized that the twins are going to be good role players for the team. The coach said he is also pleased with the work done by the team’s scouts.
In the one conversation he had with the Keeley brothers, he said they told him they want to earn the respect of their teammates and help to win a championship in Kindersley. He said he has the same goals in mind, so he was pleased about it.
Stef Corfmat, head scout for the Klippers, said he would talk about the signees as a whole, but he highlighted that the team acquired more depth at the goaltender position to add to an already strong list of current goaltenders.
He noted that Justin Close was the goalie of the year in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in the 2017-18 season. Corfmat said he has not been with the team for too long, but he is pleased with the group of players the team has signed going into the 2018-19 season.
“This is going to be my third year (with Kindersley) and it’s the best group we’ve had in two years,” he said, recognizing the team has acquired lots of talent with the signees and the group includes several good character guys that could also play the game. “We’re leaps and bounds ahead of where we were.”
Corfmat said he was a scout for the Melfort Mustangs during the team’s Canalta Cup success, but he was also part of the scout team in Drumheller that brought the Keeley brothers to the team. The brothers are nice additions to the team, he added.
McKenzie, who played in one game with the Klippers near the end of the 2017-18 season, said in an interview that he is used to being one of the smaller players on the ice, so he prides himself on being elusive. He noted that he spends a lot of time ducking and dodging his opponents.
The local player said he spent time with the team as a substitute, so he knows several of the returning players. He has not met Jardine yet, but he spoke with the new bench boss on the phone. He said his main focus will be on the team as a whole.
“I’m going to help the team in any way I can,” McKenzie said, recognizing that he hopes the team has a good season and his main goal is to help the team to be as successful as possible by being a good team player.
He noted that he just graduated from high school, and he is excited to play for his hometown team. McKenzie said things have worked out for him and he looks forward to get started. He added that the opportunity to play junior hockey at home put a big smile on his face and “there is not much better than that.”
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