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EDMONTON – The MacEwan Griffins men's hockey team, to be sure, has taken time to revel, enjoy and celebrate in the 11 days since they won their third-straight Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference championship.
But they've also found time to get some work done for the future.
On Wednesday, head coach Michael Ringrose announced that two new recruits – forward Jordan Taupert of the Drumheller Dragons and defenceman Cale Chalifoux of the Camrose Kodiaks – will be joining the program for the 2019-20 season.
“He definitely knows some guys on our roster, so I think there's some comfort there,” said Ringrose. “He'll be stepping into a dressing room where some of his former teammates have been able to find success.”
Chalifoux, who joins MacEwan University, has had a full roster of former Camrose Kodiaks. Captain Cam Gotaas, as well as Tyler Morrison, Stefan Danielson, Ryan McKinnon, Brett Njaa, Nicolas Correale, Matt Waseylenko and Ryan Hartman all played for the central Alberta AJHL club and have been part of MacEwan University mens hockey.
“Cale's a guy that we obviously know coming from the Camrose program who's going to be ready to step in and play at the ACAC level,” said Ringrose. “He will come in and push for playing time right away.
“He's a solid defensive defenceman with some size and has some history with myself dating back to Vimy (Ridge Academy) and my time with the hockey program there.”
Chalifoux was indeed Ringrose's pupil at Vimy, which has contributed several Griffins players and coaches to the program. He furthered his development in the AJHL with the Okotoks Oilers in 2014-15, the Calgary Canucks (2015-17) before finishing his junior career with the Kodiaks the past two seasons.
In 2018-19, he logged key minutes in a defensive defenceman role, posting two goals and eight points in 54 regular season games, adding two assists in another 10 playoff contests.
“He has a good stick and is kind of a rangy guy,” said Ringrose. “He's comparable to a guy we're losing in Matt Waseylenko, who came from the same (Kodiaks) program.
“I would expect him to come in and kill penalties for us and provide us with good solid depth on the back end.”
Congratulations Cale! We look forward to your continued success in school and the continued success of the hockey program!
Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics