Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Their vote for team captain would have been unanimous.
Except Sean Comrie didn't vote for himself.
"It was a no-brainer," said MacEwan Griffins men's hockey head coach Zack Dailey. "Everyone voted for him and that's who I wanted."
It's easy to see why. The fifth-year defenceman has the respect of everyone in the room with a selfless attitude, calm demeanour and an ability to play major minutes in all situations on the ice.
"Getting that from my teammates means a lot," he said. "They're all my good friends, so just having them trust me in my abilities and thinking that I do the right things on and off the ice, it's nice."
Comrie and a leadership group which includes assistant captains Marc Pasemko, Brendan Boyle and Loeden Schaufler will lead the Griffins into their home-opening weekend vs. cross-town rival Alberta (Friday, 7 p.m., Downtown Community Arena and Saturday, 7 p.m., Clare Drake Arena, both Canada West TV).
PURCHASE TICKETS FOR FRIDAY HERE
Comrie was one of three assistant captains on a Kelowna Rockets team with no captain in his final Western Hockey League season, so he has prior experience to lean on, but he also took notes from 2023-24 Griffins captain Kole Gable, who has graduated from the program.
"The biggest thing was how he carried himself, how he was easy going – he just made everyone super comfortable coming up to him and talking to him, whether it's about hockey or just life, in general," he said. "Just being really approachable. That's what I'm trying to do, too. We're different people and we have different leadership styles, but I think I'm really easy going."
Dailey noted Comrie is an embodiment of how he'd like the Griffins to play, which makes him the ideal leader for the group.
"He's just someone who does everything right all the time – all the systems he plays correctly. He just plays a ton of minutes for us, he's calm and doesn't get too high or too low. He sets the example for everyone out there of what we want to be.
"We want to do things correctly, we want to be confident, and we want to be calm all the time, whether we're up or down."
Comrie leads a veteran-laden Griffins defence, which also features returners Schaufler (MacEwan's top scorer returning from the 2023-24 campaign), Hunter Donohoe, Logan Dowhaniuk, Tyson Kowaluk and Jack Parker. Promising rookies Carson Haynes and Brody Tallman will also factor into the mix for minutes.
Loeden Schaufler is MacEwan's top returning scorer from the 2023-24 season with 23 points in 27 games (Rebecca Chelmick photo).
If the Griffins are to return to the playoffs in 2024-25, strong defensive play from everyone all over the ice will be crucial.
"For us to be successful, every year we're going to have to play the same way," said Dailey. "We're going to have to be hard to play against, be willing to block shots, finish checks, all that stuff.
"That being said, after making the playoffs, our expectations as a program have shifted. That's where we want to be every year. We don't want that to be just once in a while that we make it. We want to be a consistent playoff team. This is a team that can do that again. Obviously, it's not going to be easy – all the teams in our league have gotten better. It's going to be a very big challenge, but we're looking forward to it and I think we have a group that can do it."
The goaltending position featured the biggest turnover on the roster with two-time MacEwan Male Athlete of the Year Ashton Abel and dependable, popular veteran Thomas Davis graduating.
Eric Ward returns in 2024-25 and will battle veteran journeyman Brett Epp, who transferred from Nipissing and has also played professionally in recent seasons, and former Camrose Kodiaks goalie Carson Ironside for starts.
New Griffins goalies Brett Epp, left, and Carson Ironside pose for a goofy Stepbrothers-eque photo during media day (Rebecca Chelmick photo).
"Our goalies have been good," said Dailey. "The biggest thing is it's competitive to get into the net. All of them are capable, all are playing well, so if they want to play, they have to be at their best. I think that's a good and healthy situation for a team.
"We don't want to rely on our goaltending, but it is a big part of us being successful."
That leads to the forward corps, which is without 2023-24 leading scorer Ethan Strang, who recorded 27 points in 28 games last season and turned pro days after the campaign ended, playing for the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL. He's now with the Guildford Flames in England.
More offensive production also went out the door with graduates Jordan Taupert (22 points) – who is now playing for Lausitzer Füchse in Germany Division 2 – and Gable (19).
It falls on guys like Kadyn Chabot (18 points), Vincent Scott (16), Carter Chorney (16) and Sam Simard (14) to lead the way on the scoresheet.
Kadyn Chabot had 18 points in his rookie season in 2023-24 (Rebecca Chelmick photo).
"I think we're all aware of that and we know scoring is going to have to be by committee this year," said Comrie. "There's lots of second-, third- and fourth-year guys who want to be more offensive, want to step up, which is good to see.
"For the young guys we brought in, they're definitely the same way. They want to have an impact on the scoresheet and be offensive. They've all looked great, and they all bring some sort of offensive presence to our lineup."
Many of them have been battling injuries throughout the preseason, but Dailey feels his 2024 recruiting class will pay off big time for the program.
"I think they've been quite good," he said. "There are some guys who I think are a little bit ahead. Tallman on D has done a great job. We expected him to be good, but I think he's a little bit ahead of where I expected, which is great.
"The forward group is all good players and are guys who can play right away. That's great to see. Looking forward to getting a couple of them back here, but, overall, I think our recruiting class is going to be one that helps a bunch this year."
While the preseason started slowly for the Griffins with back-to-back losses to Alberta, it ended on a positive note as they fought back from a 3-0 deficit to Mount Royal last Saturday and won 4-3 in a shootout.
"It's a little more confident group this year," said Dailey. "Last weekend, we were down going into the third period. Instead of folding, we pushed and got a good result. That's not always going to happen, but it's great that we pushed and made a game out of it.
"We switched a couple of our systems up, so the more reps you get, the more comfortable you get with those things. Lots of positives and we're very optimistic going into the season."
