Did you know...

How important is team chemistry? Pretty important if you ask the Selkirk Steelers, the top team the Addison Division.
The franchise is perhaps in the best geographical position in the province in terms of attracting talent. As a large rural centre, they pack enough fans into their arena to be able to afford billeting players from outside the region.
However, they are also close enough to Winnipeg to have access to the largest talent pool in the province. It’s fairly well known how difficult it is to attract Winnipeg-based players to rural teams.
Looking up and down the Steelers’ lineup, there are several players from Winnipeg, and more from just outside the capital. These players all know each other, and most have previously played together.
“We’ve got a good group of guys, most of who have grown up together through minor hockey,” Steelers head coach Ryan Smith told Jennifer Pawluk of the Selkirk Journal. “We’ve worked the past two years to create this atmosphere, and the guys like to come to the rink and be around each other...of course when you’re winning it makes that so much easier.”
• A few MJHL trades to update fans on.
The Winnipeg Saints have traded 20-year-old defenceman Kael Peterson to the Abitibi Eskimos of the NOJHL for future considerations. Peterson, from Stonewall, was having some trouble cracking the starting lineup for the Saints this year.
The Dauphin Kings sent 20-year-old forward Travis Cech to the Battlefords Stars of the SJHL for 20-year- old forward Louis Labbe and future considerations.
Cech, who hails from Rocky Mountain House, Alta., had seven goals and 11 assists last year in 35 games, but only had a single assist in 13 games this year.
Labbe, who hails from Quebec City, Que., has been around Canada, having previously played with both the Flin Flon Bombers and the Trenton Golden Hawks from Ontario.
The Steinbach Pistons have traded 19-year-old forward Mike Collins to the OCN Blizzard for 18-year-old forward Cody Zulyniak and the MJHL list rights of 16-year-old forward Daniel Asham and 16-year-old forward Kurt Johnas.
Collins, from Victoria, B.C., has three goals and eight assists in 17 games this year.
• Swan Valley Stampeders’ forward Shelby Gray has been named the MJHL’s Player of the Week.
Gray, who hails from Invermay, Sask., had four goals and six points in three games.
The 20 year old is an important part of the Stampeders’ attack. He entered November having scored 26 per cent of the team’s goals, while being involved in 39 per cent of the team’s scoring.
Also considered for this award was Joey Rewucki of the Selkirk Steelers and Wendall Vye of the Neepawa Natives.
Rewucki, 19, was a perfect 2-0, compiling a 1.44 GAA and .966 save percentage.
Vye, 20, also went undefeated in three starts. He posted a 1.67 GAA and .943 save percentage.
• Did you know...
The Swan Valley Stampeders are a perfect 4-0 against both the Dauphin Kings and Steinbach Pistons this year?
With a minimum 250 minutes played, netminder Trent Michalick from the Selkirk Steelers has received the most offensive support at 4.29 goals per game. Matthew Krahn, who played his way onto Team West for the World Junior A Hockey Challenge, has the least with 2.51 goals per game. It’s tough to wins games with only two and a half goals per game, but when you sport a 2.33 GAA and a .923 save percentage, you help your team win five games and earn points in eight of 11.
Winnipeg’s Chris De la Lande from the Selkirk Steelers entered November on a 10-game point-scoring streak, collecting three goals and 10 assists during that stretch. That’s tops in the MJHL this year.
The next-best point-scoring streak is seven games, a mark shared by several players including OCN’s T.J. Constant, Waywayseecappo’s Shane Goodrunning, Winkler’s Jordan Neduzak, Waywayseecappo’s Paul Van De Velde, and Winkler’s Michael Wilgosh.
Adam Stoykewych from the Winnipeg Blues and Paul Crane from the Winnipeg Saints share the league lead for short-handed goals with three. Selkirk’s Colan Jackson leads the league with eight power-play goals, followed by Shane Luke and Bryn Chyzyk, both from Dauphin, who each seven.