Only one of the province’s best Bantam hockey players didn’t need a map to get around Okotoks.
Defenceman Lucas Watkins of the Rocky Mountain Raiders took in the rare opportunity to skate with the elite in his hometown during the Alberta Major Bantam ‘AAA’ Hockey League All-Star Game Saturday at Pason Centennial Arena.
“It meant a lot to be able to show my talents to all my friends and family and just represent my team and teammates at home,” said Watkins, who suited up for the South. “To get to play with all the top players in the league and be a part of that was a great experience.”
Team North looked to be the team to beat early in proceedings.
Speedster Ethan Leyer opened the scoring on a breakaway only to be answered less than a minute later when Lethbridge Golden Hawks superstar Zack Stringer evened the score in what would be a sign of things to come.
Calgary Northstar forward Ethan Rowland gave South its first lead as he gathered a head of steam and found the five-hole early in the second stanza. Team North’s Carson Ceulemans from Leduc then evened the score with a seeing eye point shot.
Stringer restored the South advantage with a pinpoint marker in the slot before the end of the middle frame.
The talented winger then turned to playmaking as he undressed a North defender before setting up Golden Hawks teammate Kadyn Chabot for a highlight reel marker early in the third period.
North’s Brett Hyland scored off a face-off to make it interesting before Stringer completed the hat-trick with an empty net marker in the late stages.
“We were all a little nervous in the first shift, but after we got a couple shifts in the nerves went away and we could play,” Watkins said. “We started off slow, but I think we started to get to know each other a bit more, know each other’s playing styles and that helped us win.
“Everyone wanted to win to show the North that South is better.”
Stringer, a highly touted prospect who isn’t eligible to be drafted into the Western Hockey League until 2018, was named South’s MVP. St. Albert’s Leyer took home the honours for Team North.
“It was definitely cool to play with all of them. You’re trying to beat them in the league and here you get to work with them,” Watkins said. “It’s definitely better to be with (Stringer) than defend him.”
Joining Watkins on the blueline was Raiders captain Anson McMaster – a slick puck mover with a six-foot-three towering presence on the back-end.
Watkins, who noted big improvements in his skating stride this season, and McMaster have played a big role in creating offence from the back-end as two of the top five scorers on Rocky Mountain.
McMaster, is third in the province in scoring among defencemen with 34 points in 29 games. Watkins leads the Raiders with 23 assists.
Two-time Western Canadian silver medallists, the Raiders sit third in a strong Ram South Division with a 16-10-3 record with just seven games left in the regular season.
“Our team definitely needs some help scoring goals so me and Anson being able to score and be a part of the offence is big for us,” Watkins said. “Our team has been playing really good hockey the last couple games. We’re just hoping we can continue that into playoffs and the rest of the regular season.”
For the latest on the Raiders and the AMBHL go to ambhl.ab.ca
