‘Good journey’: Huskies’ head coach reflects on wins and losses of 2024/25 season

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – The Fort St. John Huskies’ head coach has praised his team for a “good journey” this past season in an end-of-year address with Energeticcity.ca.

Todd Alexander said the squad he took into Hockey Alberta Junior ‘B’ Provincials was a stark contrast to the team that began the 2024-25 Strike Group North West Junior Hockey League (NWJHL) season.

“The boys endured a good journey this year,” said Alexander about the club’s beginnings, which started with a six-game winning streak in September and October last year and ended with a championship victory in La Crete against the Lumber Barons in the league finals.

“The message was consistent. We were able to set our standard, and boys were able to consistently get to it. That’s definitely what helped them to achieve their goal, which was winning the league.”

Equally impressive was the emergence of younger players such as Jonny Timmons, Zander Underhill and Taryn Hoskyn, who complemented veterans such as Colby Busche, Ryan Ungstad and Ashton Underhill in the Huskies’ run to the NWJHL championship.

In fact, falling behind two games to none in the finals were the only playoff losses the Huskies suffered in winning their fifth title in six years.

“We had a bunch of young guys from the season before that lost to La Crete [last season],” said Alexander. “They had that in their back pocket for motivation.

“When we had 12 players on the roster that were on the roster the season before, it took us a while to teach the things that we needed to teach in order to be successful. The boys were able to buy in and play within that structure. Once they got better at that, they were able to play better.”

Provincial play was marred by up-and-down results, beginning with a narrow 1-0 loss to the Morinville Jets. 

While the Huskies had wins over the Northwest Calgary Athletic Association’s champion Stampeders and Capital Junior Hockey League’s Sherwood Park Knights, playing six games in eight days stifled what energy the Huskies had.

Wins and losses were traded for the Huskies in the provincials, who also fell 3-2 to the Wainwright Bisons. Both losses were games Alexander felt his team could have won.

The end was a bittersweet fourth-place finish, after a 4-1 loss to the Sylvan Lake Wranglers. 

But Alexander says there’s work to be done, as a good core of three to seven players could be moving on from the program. 

“Every year you lose roughly, on average, 33 per cent of your roster,” said Alexander. “One of the biggest things that we have an advantage for us is our culture.

“We also have a lot of guys that are in the program that push that culture. It’s very player-driven, and they hold each other accountable. All of that speeds up the learning curve. I think that’s what keeps us competitive year in and year out.”

More information about the Fort St. John Huskies is available on the team’s Facebook, Instagram and website.