Admirals add scoring punch, assistant coach

Sutherland Cup champion Brody Gillis will join Admirals’ MVP Drew Booker next season.

The start of the Provincial Junior Hockey League (Jr. C) season may be a few months away, but the local Amherstburg Admirals have been busy recruiting and securing their team both on the ice and behind the bench.

Coming off a strong season in which they posted a 20-19-1-0 record including three overtime wins in the West Stobbs Division, the locals are poised to move up in the standings and could even challenge for a top three position.

“On paper we look strong up front but guys have to come in and prove it,” said Admirals GM Andrew Sykes.

Last year’s power trio of MVP Drew Booker, rookie of the year Rory Sandison and leading scorer Brett Jones are all scheduled back. They combined for 45 goals during the regular season and will have a lot of support in putting the puck in the net especially from Brody Gillis and Stefan Djordjevic.

Gillis has four years of Junior B experience including last year where the 6’1” 180-pound forward helped propel the Chatham Maroons to a Sutherland Cup title. He was second in team scoring with 58 points, including seven tallies on the powerplay and added 19 more points in the playoffs.

“I knew Brody when he was with the (LaSalle) Vipers and that helped. We didn’t have to do much convincing,” said Sykes of landing Gillis who is in his last year of junior hockey eligibility.

Djordjevic was Amherstburg’s rookie of the year back a couple of years ago before moving on to Jr. B with the Vipers. He will rejoin his older brother Allan.

“He didn’t get the same amount of ice time as he did when he was here. He was on the third or fourth line with LaSalle. He could be on our Top 6 as he has a lot of offensive ability,” said Sykes.

Perhaps the biggest concern for the Addys is on the blueline. Gone are captain Darby Drouillard, Ryan Clark, Jack Bulmer and four-year Jadyn Brown who could play both defence and left wing.

Sykes said Jake Goudreault, Cooper Bulmer, Charlie Coristine and Freddie McCroy are back, and they will be joined by rookies Holden Willey, Cameron Robinet and the team’s 16-year-old, Dylan McGuire.

There will be a very familiar face behind the bench as Jake Archer, the team’s MVP a couple of years ago will be an assistant coach and run the forwards for head coach Zack Gervais.

“In the playoffs he was coming to the games. You could tell he wanted to get into coaching,” said Sykes. “He will help a lot on the powerplay. He was an offensive player. Jake will give them his wisdom on how to score goals.”

As of press time, the Admirals had also signed forward Brayden Hebert and second-year standout forward Brady Drouillard is expected to return.

The Admirals are still looking for a trainer for the upcoming season. If you are interested, reach out to Sykes at asykes7@hotmail.com.

Admirals add scoring punch, assistant coach

By Fred Groves