Benny Walchuk
It’s time once again for the Melville Millionaires Coaches Show on GX94. We’re joined by Head Coach and GM Doug Johnson here on this Wednesday. You’re almost three-quarters of the way through the preseason, with three games already played, two against Weyburn and last night against the Waywayseecappo Wolverines.
Doug, overall, what have you liked and what have you seen from your club through those three tune-ups?
Doug Johnson
I like that we’ve progressed in our system play as every game has gone on. I know we lost last night, but we’ve continued to get better and do the things we’ve talked about. There’s a willingness to be coached and a willingness to learn, and I really like that about our group.The guys are just battling and working their tails off. There’s no quit in them, so I really like the group so far. We do have some things to clean up defensively, which happens every year, and we need to find a little more of a killer instinct offensively. Last night, we had a lot of shots without much purpose, just shooting the puck instead of creating good scoring chances. We need to find that killer instinct and really bury pucks. But again, the guys are fatigued. A lot of them haven’t had a day off in 14 days, so we need to get them that day off. We need to get to Sunday and let the guys refresh, but I want to see how they continue to battle and compete through that mental and physical fatigue.
Benny Walchuk
Exactly. Every team is in a different spot when it comes to its roster and how many players they have left. Where are you guys at right now as you head into the final three games of the preseason?
Doug Johnson
We’re down to 13 healthy forwards right now, and we should be getting two guys back here shortly. That would put us around 15 forwards, which is a really good number. We’re at nine defencemen and two goalies, so we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty. The guys are making us make some tough decisions, and that’s all we can ask for.
Benny Walchuk
A lot of guys have stepped up and surprised you throughout camp. Lukas Lundgren, the young local product from Melville, has played really well and has produced offensively.
What have you seen from him, and maybe some of the other younger players who have surprised you so far?
Speaker 1 — Doug Johnson
With Lukas, we knew that at 16 years old, he needed to go back to AAA. But the progression he’s made from last year to this year has been immense.
He plays with pace, battles his tail off and isn’t afraid to get into the corners. He’s a very good skater with a really nice stride. You can tell he has all the mechanics when you watch him skate — you just think, “That’s a pretty stride.”
He also has a nose for the net and the skill level to go along with it.
He’s going back to Notre Dame again this year to get his reps and continue working with Casey O’Brien. We hope he’s with us next year.
He had a great camp, and we could have kept him around, but at the end of the day, we felt that with his age and everything involved, going back to AAA would be the most beneficial thing for him.
We’re very excited about him. Melville fans should be excited to see a local kid in the lineup again.
And the other young player still around, Parker Salisbury, I can’t say enough about him either.
He’s had a phenomenal summer. I think he gained 14 or 15 pounds of muscle, and he’s come into camp as a different player.
We’ve always liked him, but he needed to be a little more aggressive — taking pucks to the net and playing inside the dots. He’s been outstanding.
We’ve put him down the middle because he’s very intelligent, and I’m incredibly happy with his game right now. I’m really looking forward to working with him for the full year.
