FSJ Huskies rank first in Canada’s Junior B Hockey, aquire new player

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – The Fort St. John Huskies have been ranked first out of all Canadian Junior B hockey teams according to MyHockeyRankings.com, and have acquired a new player, Ashton Underhill, from the Saanich Predators.

MyHockeyRankings.com does this by calculating goals, games played and a team’s record.

The Huskies had a record of 50-7-0, meaning 50 wins, seven losses and no overtime or shootout losses.

In comparison, the team who ranked second, St. Catharines Falcons, had more wins at 53, but more than double the losses.

Todd Alexander, Huskies’ head coach, says that it’s always nice to be recognized, saying that last year’s team was “pretty special.”

“It’s a nice gesture to be recognized for. Especially with everything that that group went through last year,” Alexander said.

Between all the COVID tests they had to take and coming off a year where nobody played, it was challenging to get everybody back into gear, especially without the veterans’ help.

“We did a good job of being able to maintain that and carry it on, and the guys that were returning did a good job of building upon it and making it better and making it their own,” he explained.

Now that the team is switching to making deals, they were able to acquire Ashton Underhill from the Saanich Predators, though he is from Whitehorse.

His rookie season saw him having 25 points in 35 games.

Alexander says Underhill was on their radar last year, but it didn’t work out for them.

The head coach and managers stayed on him, knowing that they’d have some of their “top-end” players moving on this year, so they wanted to ensure they would have an adequate replacement.

He says that once options were open for trade, they were able to “pull the trigger” and make a deal for him.

“He’s a big kid. He’s a good power forward with some skill and some upside and some leadership skills,” Alexander explains.

Alexander says that Underhill is a centerman and a wingman with experience in powerplays and penalty kills, and they plan to slot him in with some of their better players “right off the hop.”

The Huskies are also looking for billet families to take in out-of-town players for the upcoming season. For more information, contact Kerri Laurin at kbear10@telus.net.