(Cindy Betancourt/eStudioWest.com)
Valor Christian hockey made a big leap in its first season under George Gwozdecky in 2015-16. So what’s in store for Year 2?
“Certainly, there is a cautious optimism,” Gwozdecky said Monday, just prior to the start of the 2016-17 season.
You know the story by now: Gwozdecky won four national championships at the collegiate level, two as a head coach. The season before taking over at Valor Christian, he was an assistant for the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning.
He is a coaching legend in the sport.
Last season, Gwozdecky’s Eagles finished 10-8-1, winning their final six games to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2012-13. It was a quick turnaround for a program that had been a combined 5-31-0 over the previous two seasons.
But in the first round of that tournament, the Eagles were handled by Ralston Valley, 10-1.
“It certainly was a great thing to be able to finish off the season on the run we did to be able to get into the state tournament,” Gwozdecky said. “Once we got into the state tournament, we realized how challenging that type of competition is.”
Then, he added, laughing, “We got crushed pretty good in the first game and got knocked out.”
Now, Gwozdecky’s hope is that Valor can take the next step.
Some important players did graduate, including four-year starting goalie Dylan Wheeler, but the Eagles have been bolstered by students in Valor’s hallways who never played for the school team before.
(Josh Watt/CHSAANow.com)
“We’re in a little bit of a different situation here in the sense that we’ve been able to add some players to our program who have been going to school here at Valor for already one or two or three years, and have decided to join and play high school hockey rather than return to their club team that they’ve played for,” Gwozdecky said. “That’s really strengthened our team this year.”
In fact, Gwozdecky said, during the annual fall season many schools participate in, four of the team’s top six scorers were newcomers.
Still, there are key returners, like forwards Luke Lonneman and Michael Brown. Lonneman, the coach said, “Is probably our top returning player.”
Jack Kuzia will take over in net.
“This is his first time to be the No. 1 guy, and the starter,” Gwozdecky said, “and he looks like he has improved from backing up Dylan and watching Dylan and watching how he performs.”
Valor, ranked No. 9 in the preseason, is among the favorites in the newly-created Highlands Conference, along with Castle View.
The sport has moved to a radically new alignment this season, placing eight teams apiece into four tiered divisions according each team’s historic strength.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction for a competitive level for high school hockey in Colorado,” Gwozdecky said, noting the number of blowouts in previous seasons.
It means that the top division will likely be the Foothills Conference — home to defending champion Regis Jesuit (also preseason No. 1), and powers like Monarch, Ralston Valley and Cherry Creek.
Each team in the Foothills Conference is ranked in the preseason. The only non-Foothills teams that are ranked are Valor, and Resurrection Christian (No. 4), which is the favorite in the Peak Conference.
Two new teams have joined the sport this season: Fort Collins and Crested Butte. Castle View is in its second year as a varsity team.
Hockey preview
Important dates
- Regular season begins: Nov. 30
- State tournament begins: Feb. 22
- State finals: March 3-4
Info
- Defending champion: Regis Jesuit
- Preseason No. 1: Regis Jesuit
- Returning all-state players: Hunter Fox, Battle Mountain, senior, D (1st team); Cade Alcock, Regis Jesuit, senior, D (2nd); Carter Jones, Dakota Ridge, senior, F (honorable mention); Connor Kilkenny, Regis Jesuit, junior, F (honorable mention); Daniel Taggart, Cherry Creek, senior, F (honorable mention).