Kindersley Jr. Klippers Head Coach and GM Ken Plaquin was excited to see what his team could have accomplished this year. They were one of the teams practicing in hopes of government approval to play, and their eagerness to play again this season resulted in a lot of crushed hopes after last weeks decision was made.

“All the work that we put in as a group, the seven teams that wanted to keep going, to just be told no at the end of it all; when we kind of thought we were close” reflected Plaquin “If no was the most likely answer in February, in early March, I think we should have been told. “

The Klippers luxury of a young roster makes their transition into next season a little easier. Every returning player in the league will have a chip on their shoulder coming in after having this past season taken from them

Next season’s collection of Klippers will see many of those players effectively trying to make up for lost time last season. 2003 born defenceman Michael Neumeier is one player that missed plenty of his expected chances to impress this season, and a local like Jaxon Georget is someone who missed out on an entire year of playing in front of his hometown.

These players figure to be a big part of next years team, and models for what Plaquin wants to build as he plans his future in Kindersley.

“I have a vision for where I think this team can be”

Plaquin can see that the community is better when the Klippers are relevant, and he hopes to get the program back to where it has been in the past. He hopes to build a young, diversely talented team that puts together what the coach tried to instill in limited time this year.

“I hope I’m gonna be here for a while.” stated Plaquin, “Hope to get the Klippers back to where they were, maybe even a little better. Hopefully it works out that way.”

The Klippers signings so far this year have followed the coach’s bias towards acquiring young talent, but have also seemed to follow a different sort of trend. Lots of Plaquin’s time recently in the hockey world has been spent coaching and scouting around Calgary. Forward Carson Baylis and defenceman Ryan Jessey both signed on with the Klippers for next season out of the Calgary Royals AAA program, while another Alberta prospect in Mason Svarich also signed a letter of intent for the 2021-2022 season.

It might seem like a friendly set of signings out of Calgary, but coach believes it will eventually help steer them towards their goal of assembling more Saskatchewan talent. Plaquin believes the SJHL is currently in a tough spot when it comes to keeping kids in their home province.

“A lot of Saskatchewan kids want to leave. A lot of Alberta kids that I know, or know me, are comfortable coming this way because of that.” explained Plaquin, “For the next year or two it’s going to be easier for me to recruit Calgary kids.”

He knows that Kindersley has always been a team to try and feature local talent. Plaquin obviously wants to recruit the best players possible, but knows how integral it is to his vision for those players to want to be in Kindersley. He said that once the tide turns and maybe players begin opting to stay in the province, hopefully his team will be one of the main factors in the league attracting in-province talent.

Plaquin is excited to provide some stability for his players heading into next year, and knows they should be able to get off to a quick start together after everything that went down this past season. Coach continuity is a big factor, something the Klippers have not had in recent years as evidenced by their captain.

“Well Brett (Neumeier) said I was his fourth coach of his Junior A career. Stability is a huge part of it.”

Players will thankfully not have to acclimate to a new coach, especially after this incredibly shortened season. With the players already knowing what Plaquin expects, the coach is expecting a quick start to next season.