Rosters and the schedule for the annual Horsemen's Hockey Tournament, slated for Sunday, April 29 at the Cambridge (Ont.) Sports Park, are set.
After proving successful in the past four seasons, Jody Jamieson and Curtis MacDonald have continued to run the tournament with the open draft format. The draft took place on Sunday (April 22) at the Risposta Bistro in Campbellville, and a great crowd was once again on hand to watch first-hand who picked who.
There was really no surprise that once again Denis Hamel, who formerly played in the NHL, was selected first overall by Scott McEneny. J.R. Plante, Matt Bax, Todd Ratchford, Curtis MacDonald and Daryl Langstone also were notable first-round selections.
After the completion of the draft, McEneny wasted no time updating his team with some trades. First, he dished Paul Cameron, then Nick Ratchford and Adam Kean, in an effort to set his team up for championship glory.
Defending champion Rob Fellows is very happy with his selections. Fellows looked to set his team with a strong defensive core by picking up the defence duo of Langstone and Mike Bishop, which he thinks are huge building blocks on his overall team. Fellows also believes he has loaded up his team well enough front-end power to defend his title.
The 2018 Horsemen’s Hockey Tournament is sponsored by Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG), OLG, the Ontario Harness Horse Association (OHHA), the Central Ontario Standardbred Association (COSA), Grand River Raceway, Western Fair District, Flamboro Downs Holdings, Glen Smith, Merit Insurance, Dr. John McKnight, and Dr. John Hennessy. Jamieson and MacDonald credit the sponsors for making the one-day, winners-take-all event a great day for all participants.
Trades are allowed and need to go through tournament management to be approved. The trade deadline will be Friday (April 27) at 3:00 p.m.
On tournament day, entry will be $50 per person to be paid at the door. This year’s tournament will include a dinner at the conclusion.
Team rosters are as follows:
Rob Fellows: Ryan Steward, Darryl Langstone, Mike Bishop, Dylan Cunningham, Mike Etsell. Curt Blake, Shane Baglole, Andrew Oosterveld, Brandon Arsenault, Colin Kelly, Rob MacDonald, Tony Puzzuoli, Christian Pinheiro, Ryan Willis.
Dave Menary: Carmen Auciello, Matt Bax, Michael Kosziwka, Keelan MacDonald, Fed Mena, Johnny McKinnon, Brady MacDougall, Jamie Litt, Mike Krysko, Paul Cameron (acquired), Aaron Byron, Matt Trelford, Kevin Banting, Todd Gray, Bruce Gilkinson.
Trevor Henry: Jacob Henry, Ian Faubert, Daniel Pugliese, Lucas Pozzobon, Chris Downey, Rob Marriage, Ashley McMillan, Victor Montini, Bruce Richardson, Bryan Richardson, Aiden Reynolds, Travis Henry, Spencer Jones, Kris Rose, Cody Henry.
Pat Hudon: Brad Byron, J.R. Plante, Mark McKelvie, Todd Cantelon, Jacob Gillis, Gavin Christie, Joe Tulino, Brett Lester, Jake Roberts, Seth McLeod, Mike Whelan, John Donato, Greg Black, Chase Campbell, Adam Kean (acquired).
Scott McEneny: Stephen Wiley, Denis Hamel, Jake Brown, Francis Dumouchel (acquired), Carter Ebbinge, Adam Carter, Stephen Howlett, Jordan Butler (acquired), Mark McKinnon, Kyle Fellows, Carson MacRae, Corey Johnson, Keith Jones (acquired), Trevor Forgie, Chris Munroe.
Anthony MacDonald: John Doe (acquired), Todd Ratchford, Brennan Feasey, Doug McNair, Nick Ratchford (acquired), Dan Fisher, Jim Gillespie, Brandon Hillis, Mark MacQuarrie, Stephen Surette, Dr. Ian Moore, Billy Davis, Ray Gaudet, Mike Sloan, Brad Doyle.
Paul MacDonell: Curtis MacDonald, Steven Hudon, Ethan Csanadi, James MacDonald, Mike Smith, Kevin Deforest, Cameron Csanadi, Sean Hughes, Garrett Rooney, Keelan Green, Wyatt Bax, Sean Sullivan, Michel Rivest, Greg Graham.
Mike Saftic: Cody Saftic (acquired), Thomas DiFonzo, Anthony Beaton, Rob Doyle, Brett Farrelly, Riley McGilloway, Nick Steward, Neil MacInnis, Kevin Skilton, Andre Marsco, Brad Shakes, Ian Tate, Justin Saftic, Neldie MacDonald, Lee Ibey.
The game schedule is as follows:
8:00 a.m. (North): McEneny vs. Hudon
8:15 a.m. (South) Saftic vs. MacDonald
9:00 a.m. (North): Henry vs. Menary
9:15 a.m. (South): MacDonell vs. Fellows
10:00 a.m. (North): Henry vs. McEneny
10:15 a.m. (South): Saftic vs. MacDonell
11:00 a.m. (North): Hudon vs. Menary
11:15 a.m. (South): Fellows vs. MacDonald
12:00 p.m. (North): McEneny vs. Menary
12:15 p.m. (South): MacDonell vs. MacDonald
1:00 p.m. (North): Henry vs. Hudon
1:15 p.m. (South): Saftic vs. Fellows
2:00 p.m. (North): Semifinal 1
2:15 p.m. (South): Semifinal 2
4:15 p.m. (South): Championship
For more information, contact Jody Jamieson at 226.808.2100 or Curtis MacDonald at 416.819.9880.