Photo Credit – Emily Duncan Photography:
Grande Prairie Storm forward Ethan Strang is the Pizza 73 AJHL Player of the Week to open the month of November 2021. Strang scored five goals, including his first AJHL hat trick, and recorded seven points for the Storm in three games last week.
Ethan Strang (Cochrane, AB) scored a game tying goal versus Sherwood Park on November 5th before the Storm eventually fell 4-3 to the Crusaders. On November 6th, Strang scored another goal and added two assists in a narrow 6-5 loss to the Spruce Grove Saints. The third game of the week, saw a third consecutive one-goal game for the Storm with a 5-4 OT loss to the Drayton Valley Thunder. Strang recorded a hat trick to extend his goal streak to five games and earned the Viterra AJHL Star of the Game award in the overtime defeat.
Strang, 20, is in his fourth and final AJHL season with the Storm and currently leads the team with 24 points (13G, 11A).
The Alberta Ford Dealers AJHL Defensive Player of the Week is Fort McMurray Oil Barons captain Taige Harding. The third-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks put up six points (1G, 5A) for the Oil Barons on a three-game road trip through the Viterra AJHL South Division.
Harding, 19, recorded an assist on November 5th as Fort McMurray skated away with a 4-1 win versus the Okotoks Oilers. Taige was awarded as the Viterra AJHL Star of the Game on November 6th with a goal and two assists in a 5-2 victory over the Canmore Eagles. The trip ended in Camrose with a 6-3 loss to the Kodiaks and two assists for Harding.
Taige Harding (St. Albert, AB) is in his third season with the MOB and has committed to Providence College of the NCAA Division I.
Brooks Bandits defenceman Zach Bookman is the Inter Pipeline AJHL Rookie of the Week after leading all AJHL skaters with eight points (4G, 4A) last week and now leads all rookies with 34 points (8G, 24A).
Bookman, 19, was awarded as the Viterra AJHL Star of the Game on November 2nd when he recorded his second four-point (2G, 2A) game of the season in a 9-1 victory versus the Olds Grizzlys. He scored his seventh goal of the season on November 5th in a 7-3 win over the Drumheller Dragons, then concluded the week with a three-point (1G, 2A) performance as the Bandits shutout the Blackfalds Bulldogs 8-0 on November 6th.
The Merrimack College commit has amassed a nine-game point streak and leads all AJHL defencemen with 34 points, fourth in the AJHL scoring race. Bookman and the Bandits (18-1) sit in first place in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with 36 points, two points ahead of the North Division’s first place Spruce Grove Saints.
Pizza 73 AJHL Player of the Week Recipients:
- September 17-19, 2021: Caiden Gault, Spruce Grove Saints
- September 20-26, 2021: Mitchell Joss, Sherwood Park Crusaders
- September 27-October 3, 2021: Christiano Aiello, Whitecourt Wolverines
- October 4-10, 2021: Noah Hackett, Olds Grizzlys
- October 11-17, 2021: Ryan McAllister, Brooks Bandits
- October 18-24, 2021: Noah Hackett, Olds Grizzlys
- October 25-31, 2021: Roc Truman, Camrose Kodiaks
- November 1-7, 2021: Ethan Strang, Grande Prairie Storm
Alberta Ford Dealers AJHL Defensive Player of the Week:
- September 17-19, 2021: Brendan Kennette, Brooks Bandits
- September 20-26, 2021: Brett McKinley, Spruce Grove Saints
- September 27-October 3, 2021: Joshua Zinger, Olds Grizzlys
- October 4-10, 2021: Austin Zavoda, Okotoks Oilers
- October 11-17, 2021: Zach Bookman, Brooks Bandits
- October 18-24, 2021: Zac Onyskiw, Spruce Grove Saints
- October 25-31, 2021: Nick Traggio, Bonnyville Pontiacs
- November 1-7, 2021: Taige Harding, Fort McMurray Oil Barons
Inter Pipeline AJHL Rookie of the Week:
- September 17-19, 2021: Carson Whyte, Camrose Kodiaks
- September 20-26, 2021: Logan Hauer, Sherwood Park Crusaders
- September 27-October 3, 2021 – Thomas Vela, Olds Grizzlys
- October 4-10, 2021: Bowden Singleton, Okotoks Oilers
- October 11-17, 2021: Ryder Matter, Brooks Bandits
- October 18-24, 2021: Rieger Lorenz, Okotoks Oilers
- October 25-31, 2021: Simon Diaz, Fort McMurray Oil Barons
- November 1-7, 2021: Zach Bookman, Brooks Bandits