The Grande Prairie Storm continued their winning streak over the weekend after a couple of narrow victories against the Olds Grizzlys.
After stunning the Grizzlys down south, the Storm continues to reign supreme in the AJHL with a record of 13-1-1-1.
GP Storm Executive Director Nicole Menzies credits the team’s newfound success to a number of factors, including the coaching changeups that occurred during the offseason.
“I think there are a lot of factors to the team’s success this year, the work our GM has done over the past year, our coaching staff Chris Schmidt, Brandon Wells, and Jordan McTaggart are all working together beautifully and making some really good connections with the team,” she says.
It’s not just the coaching staff making strides for the Storm though, as the team has already seen several Rookie of the Week awards and a Player of the Week win, which Menzies says is an “affirmation” for her squad’s hard work this season.
“The work the team has put in, we have a fantastic leadership team, the captains are really good leaders on the ice and off, and we just have a really good group of guys who are willing to work really hard to get there all together,” she says. “I know the guys all feel really proud of a teammate when he gets an award.”
The Grande Prairie Storm have struggled to find their footing over the past few seasons, finishing with a record of 24-26-4-3 last season, and barely missing the playoffs after a tough play-in series battle against Calgary. This season, however, Menzies says the Storm’s recent success has resulted in some “incredible” support from Grande Prairie residents.
“It’s really an affirmation of all the work that the team’s doing, the coaching staff, the players, we’ve had some incredible fan support this season which I know the players really appreciate, it’s pretty amazing for them to play in front of 12, 13, 1,400 fans cheering go Storm go,” she says. “All of it just coming together, it’s been really cool to see, there have been some really fun hockey games this season… the buzz around the team has been really cool.”
In an effort to continue the growing support for the club, Storm skaters have been busy volunteering and getting involved in the community through minor hockey and schools, and Menzies maintains they will continue to do so as the season goes on.
