Griffins add another Canmore Eagles captain - talented, mobile, power play defenceman Black
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – With all three of the Griffins' main powerplay point men from 2025-26 gone from the program, spots on the unit are wide open.
Enter former Canmore Eagles defenceman Casey Black, who will bring his puck moving ability to the MacEwan men's hockey blueline in 2026-27. He has the opportunity to be a rare rookie earning significant powerplay time at the Canada West level.
"Definitely, he has powerplay potential," said Griffins head coach Zack Dailey, who has seen both Dowhaniuk brothers – Logan and Keaton – as well as Brett Bamber from their 2025-26 PP units move on from the program. "That's one of the selling points for first-year guys coming in is all three of our powerplay D are gone. So, it's kind of wide open. There are going to be eight D who have an opportunity to play on the powerplay."
Black brings a strong ability to move the puck and create offence from the back end. Although he suffered an injury that cut his final junior season short, he managed to record 21 points in 25 games with Canmore in 2025-26.
Black played most of his junior career with the Eagles, producing 105 points in 169 regular season games – including his best stint in 2024-25 when he had 35 points in 30 contests.
"He's been quite good there," said Dailey. "He produces quite a few points. I think last year he was over a point a game and this year he was right there. He's someone who is all-around. He takes care of his end, but he's quite good at jumping into plays in the O-zone. He's pretty creative, finding lanes to jump in, creating some chaos and making it hard on the defending team."
The Calgary native – out of the Flames elite hockey stream – also played 19 games for the Okotoks Oilers in the BCHL during the 2024-25 season, producing two points.
In his career, he's won several accolades, including being voted to the AEHL U18AAA second all-star team in his final minor hockey season in 2021-22 before starting junior at age 17.
"With the guys we lost, we lost a little bit of offence from the back end," said Dailey. "He's someone who can help fill that void.
"It's a little unfair to expect a first-year D to come in and contribute right away, but I think he's someone who can do that. The reports that I've gotten from Arnie (former Griffin Bryan Arneson, Canmore associate head coach/assistant GM) on him as a player and others who've played with him, I think he's going to fit in with our group really well."
Black was named the Eagles' captain in 2025-26 before a season-ending injury meant the 'C' was transferred to teammate John Szabo – who is also joining the Griffins – for the remainder of Canmore's run to the AJHL title.
Needless to say, the leadership that both will bring to the Griffins is huge.
"I definitely take a lot of that into account," said Dailey. "I think there's a selflessness to those guys that they're willing to take on a role and do it to the best of their ability as long as the team is successful. That's what you need, ultimately, if you want to win. You need a lot of selfless people who care more about the team than themselves.
"That's a big part of being a captain is you have to put people ahead of yourself. I'm definitely happy to have guys with leadership attributes because when it comes down to it, you win with those guys."
Casey Black celebrates with the trophy after the Canmore Eagles won the 2025-26 AJHL Championship back in April (Melissa Baker photo).
