Endicott takes last shot at glory with Dogs

There seems to be no end in Endo. Derek(Endo)Endicott—whohasbeenaquestionable returnee for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies hockey team during the past few seasons — has always come back, just like a cat. Or, in this case, a Dog back for another kick at the cat.

So, when the Hockey Dogs open their new Canada West conference season tonight at 7 p.m. against the University of Manitoba Bisons at Rutherford Rink, Endicott will once again be in the Huskies’ lineup.

He is entering his fifth and final season with the Dogs, once again setting his sights on an elusive University Cup national championship — one which slipped through his fingers with 23 seconds to go in the final at Rexall Place when he was a rookie.

Now the Huskie defenceman’s CIS hockey career is about to come full circle.

“I was in my first year then and this is my last year now, so maybe it is,” the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Endicott says. “We have a really good team and I wouldn’t be surprised to see us in a similar situation again this season, but we can’t look ahead too far. We’ve got to keep playing hard every game.”

Unlike past seasons, when Endicott logged tons of ice-time, the Dogs are a lot deeper in defence, which may no longer require a workhorse.

“It will (be a battle for ice time),” Endicott, one of only two fifth-year Huskies on the squad this season, says. “It will be a good thing. Everybody’s going to push each other to the next level, hopefully. We’ve always had good players but never this many young guys coming in, which will bring in a whole new competitive level. I think it will be very good for everybody on the team.”

Endicott decided to return for one last season, putting a possible career as a firefighter on hold.

“It’s kind of the way everything panned out,” he explains. ‘I was weighing out a few things and this is the best thing for me at this time.”

Endicott is one of five blue-line holdovers, joining Evan Schafer, Jesse Zetariuk, Mark Hinz and Cole Simpson. Newcomers include Chad Greenan (Kootenay Ice), Zach Sim (Kootenay), R.J. Larochelle (Vancouver Giants), Matt Swaby (Edmonton Oil KIngs) and Curtis Patterson, a one-time Saskatoon Blade.

“We are definitely looking deep, both up front and in the back,” says Endicott. “We’ve got a lot of returning guys in the back end who have been good for us and will be good for us again this season. The new guys are going to do really well for us, as well.
“Up front, we’ve got some skill that’s come around that will definitely help us out.”

Overall, the Dogs have added 12 rookies to their roster. Michael Kaye, should he return from the pro ranks, would make it 13. The sheer volume, not to mention the quality, has impressed Endicott.

“I’ve seen some really good rookies come in, but never this many, not in my time.”

U of S head coach Dave Adolph is glad to have Endicott, 25, back in the fold. The former Saskatoon Blade and Red Deer Rebel has been consistently one of the team’s top rearguards in each of his past four seasons. He has been the Huskies’ nominee for the Mervyn (Red) Dutton Trophy for the Canada West outstanding defenceman more than once. Yet, he continues to fly under the radar in the Canada West, where all-star voting is cast largely on point production.

“Derek Endicott is easily one of the best defencemen in the CIS and never gets the recognition for it,” says Adolph. “He’s a horse. He’s an absolute workhorse. He’s benefited our program every game he’s played for the last four years. When his date of entry for the Brandon Fire School got moved back to Sept. of 2009, rather than worrying about it, he started looking at other options and one was getting a second major. That’s what school is all about, trying to enhance and that’s what he did.”

DOG TALES: Endicott had five goals and seven assists in 25 games last season along with 83 penalty minutes. He had three goals and 12 assists the season before and four goals and 14 assists prior to that . . . Thanks to sponsor Meyers-Norris-Penny of Saskatoon, parking in designated areas is once again free at all Hockey Huskie games.