Lincs acquire new forward from Stratford Warriors in cash deal
By Pat Payton
The St. Marys Lincolns have not yet named a team captain to replace the departed Blair Butchart, who left the team earlier this month to return to the Jr. ‘C’ ranks.
The Lincs currently have five assistant captains, although only three players can wear an ‘A’ on their jerseys each game. The five assistants are: forwards Cayse Ton, Thomas McLatchie, Joe Mazur and Jacob Bloomfield and defenceman Max Mulder.
“We haven’t named a new captain yet; we’re not even sure we will,” Lincolns’ General Manager Greg Smale said last Thursday. “We want to make sure we get the right person for the job. We don’t want to name a captain just for the sake of naming a captain. They have to fit the criteria that we want for our captain.
“The players have talked about it and (management) have talked about it. But we haven’t come up with an answer yet.”
Butchart’s last game with the Lincs was Nov. 10 in Chatham. The 20-year-old centre from Palmerston requested a trade back to his former team, Mount Forest, and the Lincolns and Patriots agreed to a straight cash deal.
–In other team news, the Lincs have acquired a new forward from Stratford Warriors of the Midwestern Conference. It was a straight cash deal.
Kyle Kuznik, an 18-year-old from Orillia, was expected to make his St. Marys debut in London on Wednesday (Nov. 27) of this week. The 5 ft. 11 inch, 181 lb. Kuznik had four goals, six points and 29 penalty minutes in 15 games with Stratford.
–Lincolns’ winger and leading point-getter Mason Mantzavrakos is shooting for “at least 25 goals” and would like that total to be even higher before the end of the GOJHL regular schedule.
After this past weekend, the 17-year-old Londoner has 13 goals and 30 points in 22 games. He leads the team with six powerplay tallies.
–The LaSalle Vipers recently got a key player back in AJ Ryan. The 20-year-old forward, who started the current season with Cobourg of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), had 29 goals and 60 points for the Vipers last season.
“We were very fortunate to get AJ back,” LaSalle coach John Nelson said before last Friday’s game in St. Marys. “He’s a dynamic player who brings goal-scoring ability to any team he plays for. He’s probably the fastest player in Jr. ‘B’ hockey, and he competes hard and brings leadership to our dressing room as well.”
–Former Lincs’ forward Mason Goldie (2018-19) has nine goals and 18 points in 30 games for the Navan Grads, a provincial Jr. ‘A’ team based in Eastern Ontario. The 18-year-old Goldie hails from London.
Smith Falls, Nepean, Cornwall, Brockville and Kemptville are some of the opponents that Navan plays in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL).
