Little Dog’s moving in
By Darren Zary of The StarPhoenix
Dan Erlandson is a little guy, all 5-foot-9 of him, but he has managed to make his presence felt in a crowd.
With so many veterans and blue-chip recruits creating an unprecedented logjam at the forward position on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, trying to crack the Dogs’ roster this season may be highly improbable for somebody like Erlandson
Yet, give the guy credit for giving it his best shot.
Erlandson, who played in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with the Notre Dame Hounds and Weyburn Red Wings, has been a pleasant surprise through the first two weeks.
While U of S head coach Dave Adolph has taken notice of this, he realizes that Erlandson is up against incredible odds.
There are 18 forwards in the mix and Erlandson find himself near the bottom trying to climb up the depth ladder. It’s a tall order.
“In the first two weeks, no question, he’s been a good surprise,” Adolph said Thursday. “His hockey sense, in some cases, is superior to some of our seasoned veterans from the Western Hockey League that are in their fi rst year on the team.
“He’s a very good skater. Positionally, he’s always in the right spot. Position-wise, he’s as good as anybody I’ve seen out of junior hockey. A lot of the drills we do the first week, whether the players know it or not, they’re all about seeing who is where in what stage of their hockey sense, whether we do drills off the rush or in the defensive zone, or whatever. To me, it’s to find out what I have to teach this year.
“I would say, this far, Dan could teach — he could help me. He’s really good.”
Erlandson and his fellow Huskie pups will see a real test this weekend at the annual Huskie Classic pre-season tournament. Saskatchewan will play the Calgary Dinos at 7 p.m. Saturday night and defending national champion Alberta Golden Bears at 6 p.m. Sunday. Both games are at Rutherford Rink.
“The fur hasn’t started to really fly yet,” said Adolph. “Against Regina (last weekend), he (Erlandson) was probably in a comfort zone because he had played against a lot of their new guys last year in the SJ. This weekend, he’ll be playing against two teams that are going to be very, very solid, but he’s going to play.”
DOG TALES: The Huskies still have 29 eligible players in camp, including 16 veterans. That overall number does not include D Mark Hinz, who is awaiting eligibility clearance after playing in the NCAA (Mankota State, Minnesota) . . . Veteran D-men Bryce Thoma and Colin Johnson are officially out of the picture. Both players have decided to play minor pro this season. That leaves the Dog a little thin on the blue-line.
dzary@sp.canwest.com
