Griffins add valuable U SPORTS experience to lineup with Price, Brandt and Trott
Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – There are varying recruiting strategies one could employ.
When MacEwan Griffins men's hockey head coach Michael Ringrose pondered his approach at the beginning of the off-season, the answer was clear: experience is paramount.
His young team, which featured 13 first-year players in the program's final season in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference in 2019-20, was already facing an uphill battle to be competitive on a nightly basis in the higher-levelled Canada West ranks.
So, rather than pursue a plethora of green junior graduates, he spent the majority of his time securing commitments from older, veteran players.
It makes good sense that if you want to be competitive in U SPORTS, you need to have some players with U SPORTS experience.
That's just what Ringrose landed in a trio of players who have a combined 110 U SPORTS games under their belt.
Ethan Price (Brock University), Riley Brandt (Royal Military College) and Cam Trott (University of Lethbridge) will add important intangibles off the ice and a high level of play on it.
"For us, it was a big part of our strategy heading into the off-season," said Ringrose. "It was identifying those players from other institutions at the ACAC level and U SPORTS level to really see if they were going to be a fit.
"We had a bit of a younger team last year. We had a whole wealth of first-year guys. It takes time to adjust and we just don't have the luxury of going through that adjustment period this first year (at the U SPORTS level). We were hoping to find guys that had experience playing at this level because we feel it's going to give us an opportunity to be competitive right off the hop. We feel we were successful in bringing in guys who can help us in that regard."
To be fair, Price was already with the Griffins as a redshirt in 2019-20, unable to play in games due to eligibility rules after transferring from Brock last fall. He spent the entire year practicing and sharpening up a young Griffins roster that was one of the best in the ACAC before the season was cut short shy of the semifinals due to COVID-19.
"As far as character goes, for a guy to come in and compete as hard as he did in practice without getting into a game, that's not an easy thing to do," lauded Ringrose. "He did his part to push our guys to be better. He's an incredible teammate and an incredible person.
"The way he plays the game with the speed and the pace that he does, we're really, really excited to get him into the lineup this year."
Price, who produced 11 points in 28 games during his rookie U SPORTS season at Brock in 2018-19, has 273 Western Hockey League games (Portland and Victoria) on his resume and also played 91 games in the USHL with Lincoln and Omaha in his home state of Nebraska.
Ringrose fully expects the versatile centre/winger to grab a powerplay and top-six spot in the Griffins lineup.
"He's one of these guys who has the ability to push the pace in all areas," said Ringrose. "He hunts pucks, retrieves pucks and is willing to get to the dirty areas and do the work. He's committed to playing the game the right way.
"It's the intangibles he brings on a day to day that really make him valuable to the team. He really pushes his teammates to be their best. It's hard not to follow the example of someone who plays the way that he does."
Riley Brandt was the top scorer in U SPORTS in 2017-18 with 21 goals in 28 games for Royal Military College before injuries cost him most of the last two seasons (Peter Reimer/RMC Athletics).
Brandt also has the potential to be an impact forward with the Griffins. Heck, all he did in his rookie U SPORTS season (2017-18) with the RMC Paladins was lead the country in goals with 21 and had 33 points in 28 games.
Injuries robbed him of the chance to build on that – he's only appeared in two games since that season – but Brandt is transferring to MacEwan with three years of eligibility left and a golden opportunity to again prove he's an elite player in U SPORTS. It will also be an opportunity for the Trail, B.C. native to play with his cousin, current Griffins forward Spencer McLean.
"He ran into a couple of years he wasn't able to play due to injury, but if you look back, he was the captain of the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL in 2016-17 and then he stepped into RMC at the U SPORTS level and put up 21 goals his first season in 17-18," noted Ringrose. "He has the experience not just playing at the U SPORTS level but being an elite scorer at this level.
"Obviously, any time you lose a couple years to injury, it's going to take time to get back to the level you want to compete at. In all the conversations with me, he's excited to get a fresh opportunity at a place that's a little closer to home and we're excited to add someone of that pedigree."
Cam Trott has 47 games of Canada West experience under his belt with the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns (MPP Photography).
Trott was briefly a teammate of Brandt's at Vernon and finished up his junior career in 2017-18 before committing to the Lethbridge Pronghorns. The defensive defenceman from Anmore, B.C. completed his second season for the Pronghorns in 2019-20 before learning the program was being discontinued.
As a result, he was looking for a new home. With 47 games of Canada West experience under his belt, he's an important addition for Ringrose.
"Obviously what happened with the program at the University of Lethbridge was unfortunate, but it gave us an opportunity to add a guy like Cam," said Ringrose. "Having not only U SPORTS experience but in Canada West, we'll be able to lean on Cam for his experience. Even just knowing the rinks you're going into is valuable. Not only is he going to add a veteran, stabilizing presence on our back end, the intangibles he brings to us and the experience he has in this division is certainly going to be helpful."
Trott is primarily known for his sound defensive work.
"He's a defensive guy – really good stick, rangy guy who has the ability to make a good first pass," said Ringrose. "He gets up the ice and can certainly add offence, but he's a solid defender first."
