Behind the bench this season for the Stampeders this season will be 23-year-old Tyler Friesen, a young coach with an abundance of hockey experience.

He started playing minor hockey in Red Deer starting in House League before making it up to AAA. Last season, Friesen was a head coach in Ponoka Minor Hockey for U15 Ponoka. He also comes in with plenty of knowledge of the rules of the game, having spent the past ten seasons refereeing as well.

After only being the head coach for a month and trying to put a team together, the Stampeders played the Rocky Rams in an exhibition game on September 10. The final score was 11-4 for the Rams. It was not a pretty result but it provided Friesen and his coaching staff with a look at how the competition will match up this season.

“The score is indicative of how we played. Rocky has been playing together for three years, we had just gotten a team on the ice.” said the second-year Sports and Business Management student at Olds College.

However, Friesen has an idea of how he wants the team to play.

“I’m old school. I’m a young guy but I’m old school. You come to the rink, you work hard, and you play disciplined hockey. We are going to put pucks in the net but it’s gonna come from our defence first. We are going to be a team that is fast and quick and our goaltending is really good. We have three good goalies.” explained Friesen.

The team is made up of a few returning Stampeders who played the season prior to last, some new guys that showed up to camp to try-out, and players who were cut from other teams in the HJHL but still want to continue playing.

Having the Stampeders participate in the league this season is exciting for the new bench boss.

“We want the support from the town and with the team coming back it’s a good opportunity for people to come out and watch some great hockey.” admits the coach.

Friesen has also set two goals that he would like to see the team reach this season. He would like the team to finish the season with a record of at least 20-20. The second goal is to win a playoff series.

“I know Ponoka’s kind of had a bad history with playoffs and they haven’t won so well there. It’s a goal I wanted to start right when I got the job.”

For the season, the Stampeders will play in the HJHL’s North division along with the Mountainview Colts, Airdrie Techmation Thunder, Red Deer Vipers, Rocky Rams, Sylvan Lake Wranglers, and Three Hills Thrashers.

While all of the teams in the division play a tough brand of hockey, Friesen believes the division is wide open and a playoff spot is reachable for the Stampeders.

The Ponoka Stampeders will open the season against the Red Deer Vipers on Sunday September 18 at 2:30 p.m. at the Ponoka Arena. There will also be a tailgate party that afternoon at 1 p.m. before the start of the game.