A 17 year old defenceman from Olds made his debut for his hometown Junior ‘A’ hockey club last month.
Avery Trotter’s first regular season game in the Alberta Junior Hockey League for the Olds Grizzlys was on December 17th as part of a 3-2 loss to the top ranked CJHL team in the nation – the Brooks Bandits.
Trotter has played 3 more games for Olds since then and although he is still looking for his first point, he is enjoying his new opportunity in the AJHL.
Trotter explains what he brings to the blueline for the Black & Gold.
Trotter had the chance to play at the Alberta Cup in 2019 and was selected by the Spokane Chiefs in that year’s WHL Bantam Draft. Before joining the Grizzlys he was part of the Red Deer Chiefs U18 AAA program. He was named the Chiefs Captain this season. With 20 games remaining in the AJHL regular season for the Grizzlys, Trotter discusses what he hopes they can accomplish.
Trotter says it was tough to see leads of 3-1 and 5-3 slip away on Tuesday as the Whitecourt Wolverines rallied to win 7-5 at the SportsComplex and extend the Grizzlys losing streak up to 17 games.
The Grizzlys host the Fort McMurray Oil Barons tonight at 7:30 and live coverage can be heard on 96.5 CKFM.
The Black & Gold need a win over Fort Mac to avoid tying a dubious team record. The longest winless streak in one season for the Grizzlys was set in 2016 when they finished the 2015-2016 regular season with 18 straight losses – going oh-16-and-2 during that stretch. The Grizzlys last win this season was on November 13th in Calgary – since then they are oh-15-and-2.
Fort Mac is currently in second place in the North Division with 31 wins and 9 losses. Olds remains last in the South with a record of 5-31-and-4. The Oil Barons had to deal with a couple of big changes in December with the AJHL’s all-time winningest coach Gord Thibodeau resigning and then the hiring of former Sherwood Park Crusaders bench boss Adam Manah. They also lost 6’7 defenceman Taige Harding to Providence of the NCAA. Harding turned 20 on January 3rd and in 2021 the Chicago Blackhawks selected him in the third round of the NHL Entry Draft. His last game for Fort Mac was December 18th. He had 14 goals and 37 points from the blueline in 37 games this season at that point. The Oil Barons were 26-6-0 with Thibodeau and they are 5-3-0 since Manah took over. Manah’s first game as Head Coach and General Manager was a 3-1 win on home ice over the Olds Grizzlys on December 10th.
Listen to 96.5 CKFM’s conversation from Wednesday, January 12th with Avery Trotter.
Check out part 1 of CKFM’s chat with Fort McMurray Oil Barons Head Coach and General Manager Adam Manah from Thursday, January 13th.
Hear part 2 with Adam Manah.
(Photo of Avery Trotter’s AJHL debut on December 17th via Olds Grizzlys Twitter)
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