Top Bruins In the First Half

Throughout the first half of the season, I've been naming players of the week, and to end off the first half of the season (or the pre Christmas play since only 19 games remain) I thought I would provide my Players of the First Half.

Unsung Hero of the First Half.

Derek Whitehill.

Whitehill was a late addition to the Bruins roster in August, and when the 20 year old arrived to camp he suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the early part of the season. But when Whitehill got back in to the lineup he provided the Bruins with a lot of leadership and solid two way play. Whitehill's contribution wasn't marked on the score sheet every night, but Whitehill would make a decisive play in every game that would help the Bruins pick up the two points. In the month of December, Whitehill became more of an offensive threat when he formed a line with Taylor Reich and Tanner Froese. The three were probably the Bruins best forwards in December as they provided some consistent secondary scoring.


Defencemen of the First Half.

Austin Yano and Tyler Kauk.

This one was so hard to call so I simply called it a draw. Both 18 year olds have played beyond their years in the first half of the season. Yano has shown all of his offensive abilities from the first day of the season, but his defensive responsibilities also continue to get better. Meanwhile, Kauk has always been solid inside of the defensive zone and will likely see more minutes in the final stretch of the season. Both players scored huge goals for the Bruins, back in October when the Bruins were down by 3 goals to Melville Yano provided a end to end goal that would spark a Bruins rally.. While Kauk delivered a game winner of his own a couple of weeks ago against Notre Dame in Assiniboia. The Bruins have a bright future ahead of themselves and a big part of it is because of Yano and Kauk on the blue line.

Rookie of the First Half.

Taylor Reich.

Reich has played more roles for the Bruins in the first half of the season than most players in their entire Junior careers. At the beginning of the season Reich  played on an Energy type line with players like Matthew Dochylo and Josh Jelinski. Later in the first half, Reich spent some time playing on the top line with Cole Olson and Dylan Smith. To end off the first half, Reich found success on a scoring line with Derek Whitehill and Tanner Froese. Reich is one of the standouts in a strong rookie class for the Bruins. With players like Froese, Kauk, Yano, Ben Johnstone, Steven Glass and others, it's not hard to believe that the SJHL's Rookie of the Year will come from Estevan.

Player of the First Half

Dylan Smith.

There was a lot of heavy expectations on Smith heading into the season, and he has met those expectations on the score sheet, as Smith leads the Bruins in goals, assists and obviously points.  
Smith, along with Calder Neufeld and Cole Olson formed one of the most consistent lines in the SJHL as the three have been lighting up the goal light since opening night in September. Smith is one goal back of Battleford's Blake Tatchell in the SJHL goal race, and also trails Tatchell by a point for the scoring chase. Smith is one of the biggest reasons the Bruins have the best power play in the SJHL with 22 power play points. Smith will be expected to continue his strong start in to the final six weeks of the season where he could find himself winning some league hardware.