Author: almaguinspartans@creativeone

The Almaguin Spartans organization is thrilled to announce the advancement of 2000 born Russian Forward Nikita Eruslanov to McKendree University ACHA D1. Eruslanov spent 2 seasons with the Spartans, putting up 61 points in 68 games. He was slated to return to the Spartans last season, however due to COVID restrictions he played in the United States in the USPHL for Fresno and Hampton Roads.

Spartans General Manager David Forde had this to say about Eruslanov’s move to college hockey “I’m very happy to see Nikita get this opportunity. He has worked very hard for this. Despite going through some very difficult times in his life over the last year with the loss of his father, Nikita stayed focused and continued to work towards his goal. It is great to see our players get first class education, while continuing their hockey careers. One of the major goals of our program is to help advance and prepare players for the next level and this is just another example of a player coming to us as a young teenager and turning into a college level student and athlete.”

Nikita Eruslanov had this to say about his time in Almaguin and his advancement to college hockey “I am very excited to have reached my goal and can not wait to attend college in the fall. My 2 years in Almaguin really helped prepare me to play college hockey and be prepared to be a student athlete on and off the ice. The staff and my billets were so supportive of me in Almaguin during good times and bad when I was here and even while I was at home in Russia. I would like to thank them all for helping me. I loved my experience in Almaguin and I highly recommend it to any player looking to improve and advance to the next level.”

Congratulations Nikita and best of luck!!!

The Almaguin Spartans organization had a busy day yesterday as they selected a total of 15 players in the leagues 12 Round Entry Draft. The Spartans had 3 additional draft selections that were acquired via trade over the last year.

Spartans General Manager David Forde had this to say about the teams draft yesterday “I’m very happy with the outcome of the draft yesterday. We got most of the players that were on our radar. You always miss out on a few guys that are selected by other teams, but that is just the nature of the draft. Our coaches and I have been working hard to add to our roster for this season to complement a high number of returning players from last season. Many of our draft selections were from the Pre-Draft Showcase event that was held in Vilnius, Lithuania this weekend. Our Head Coach Andrejs Savicevs was in attendance scouting players, meeting with players/players and facilitating zoom meetings so I could speak with players and parents as well. This first class, professional level event was put on by Savicevs and Olegs Koreskovs and has landed our organization many talented players over the past 5 years.

Our draft strategy yesterday was to select high-level talent from the showcase event, select veteran players we think can contribute in big way with our club this season and to secure the GMHL playing rights of two young promising Almaguin area players in Rhett Macfarlane and Ethan Boyes “

• 1st Round Nikita Andrusenko (2000) Forward Utah Outliers USPHL Premier
• 2nd Round Knute Loe (2000) Goaltender Fresno Monsters USPHL Premier
• 3rd Round Italo Milbergs (2001) Defensemen HK Kurbads U23 Latvia 2
• 4th Round Cayden Martin (2000) Forward Embrum Panthers EOJHL
• 5th Round Antoine Dumoulin (2000) Defensemen Fresno Monsters USPHL Premier
• 6th Round (1) Kalvis Krievs (2005) Defensemen Primza/Pardaugava U17 Latvia
• 6th Round (2) Ben Anderson (2001) Forward Carolina Jr. Hurricanes USPHL Premier
• 7th Round Jon Tagoona (2000) Forward Dryden Ice Dogs SIJHL
• 8th Round Ethan Boyes (2005) Forward North Bay Trappers
• 9th Round Liam McCarthy (2001) Goalie Cochrane Crunch NOJHL
• 10th Round Rhett Macfarlane (2005) Forward Huntsville Otters Midget
• 11th Round (1) Patriks Berzins (2003) Goalie Liepaja Juniors Latvia 2
• 11th Round (2) Shon-Oliver Roy (2000) Forward Grand Falls Rapids MJAHL
• 12th Round (1) Artyom Pukhlyak (2002) Forward HK Brest Belarus 2
• 12th Round (2) Paulius Grybauskas (2004) Forward Kaunas Hockey Lithuania

We can not wait to see some of these faces in our line up this season and to see our great fans pack the arena again!!

#spartansarmy
#buildingacontender
#hockeysback

 

The Almaguin Spartans are thrilled to announce the addition of former Spartans Captain and member of our 2018 Championship team Ivan Skvortsov. The Russian forward spent 3 seasons with the Spartans and was a key contributor to the team’s success during that time on and off the ice.

Spartans General Manager David Forde had this to say about this addition Skvortsov to organizations scouting staff “I am really happy to have Ivan joining our staff. He has always been a student of the game and was interested in everything surrounding the game. He would pick the coach’s brains, as well as mine on a regular basis about systems, skills development, what we notice in players, how players come to our organization, how they advance from it and how other leagues work. He wanted to know everything, so it is not surprising to me at all that he is now wanting to work in the game and hopefully turn it into his career one day. He is also studying Sports Management in Moscow.

Ivan will be focusing on talent in Russian and Eastern Europe. His ability to speak, multiple languages, his experience playing in Canada for 4 seasons and his knowledge and experience in our program will be a big asset in recruiting talent to our club this season. I have always had a great relationship with Ivan and our organization is thrilled to be able to help him start his career working in hockey.”

Ivan had this to say about joining the Spartans staff “I really loved my time with the Spartans and living in Almaguin for 3 years. It helped me grow and develop, not just as a player, but as a person. When you play here, you are not just part of a hockey team, you are a part of a family. The ownership, staff, volunteers, fans, and billets in Almaguin are amazing. I want to help players come to the Spartans so they can have the same amazing experience I did. I will be working hard to recruit strong players and good people to the Spartans to build towards another Russell Cup. I am studying Sports Management and want to work full-time in hockey one day, so when David Forde asked me if I would like to scout and start working in hockey it was a no brainer because I have great trust in the Spartans staff and I know this a great spot for me to learn the business of hockey and start my career. “

Welcome back to the Spartans Ivan!!!

#spartansarmy #teamfamilyforever

Photo Credit: Richard Coburn Photography

The Almaguin Spartans are very excited to announce our partnership with Elite Junior Profiles. This is a fantastic program to assist our players in advancing to the next level by putting players’ profiles and information at the finger tips of hundreds of college and professional coaches. We have advanced 47 players to major junior, college or professional hockey in the last 6 seasons. This program is another tool to help continue this impressive level of success.

Buy some of this fantastic local beer while supporting the Avery Seca Youth in Sport Foundation. 25 cents from every can sale goes to this amazing local charity that has assisted hundreds of local children in the Almaguin and Parry Sound area participate in sports #Almaguin #ParrySound #HighlanderBrewCo #GivingBack

The Almaguin Spartans are extremely happy to announce the hiring of Andrejs Savičevs, as the Spartans Head Coach. Savičevs comes to the Spartans with an incredible amount of playing and coaching experience at the top junior, professional and international level. As a player Savičevs was a 2003 USHL Draft Pick of the Chicago Steel, represented Latvia Internationally at the World Junior Championships twice and played 6 years professionally in the Latvian Premier League.
As a coach, Savičevs has coached at the professional level in Latvia and Lithuania with DHK Latgale (Latvian Premier League) 2008-2011 and Baltu Ainiai/HC Klaipeda (Lithuania) 2019-2020. As a junior coach, Savičevs coached from 2008-2014 in the top Latvian
league at the U20, U18 and U16 level. Since 2014, Savičevs has led the entire HC Klaipeda Hockey Program from U8 to U17, and during this time has also coached the U16 and U18 Lithuania National Teams.

Savičevs has a bachelor’s degree in education, with a specialized focus in the teaching of sport from Daugavplis University in Latvia. He speaks four languages (English, Russian, Latvian and Lithuanian), which will make the transition for any player to our program from Russia, Latvia, Belarus or Lithuania much easier on and off the ice.

Savičevs is a coach that is able to provide world class skill development and conditioning training for every player in our program. He has completed high level training throughout Europe over the past 20 years, with some of the brightest hockey minds in the world as a player and a coach. Savičevs proven ability to develop players individually and within a team system, will fully prepare our players to compete for a championship this season and prepare players to play at the next level.

Savičevs joins an experienced coaching staff with Andre Laperriere and Brandon Blanche. The Spartans ownership group of Andrew Torrance, Andy Palfrey and David Forde had this to say about the addition of Savičevs to the coaching staff “We are thrilled to have Andrejs joining our coaching staff. His experience as a player and a coach help bring our program to the next level. Every year we have players from all over the world, and having a coach with Andrejs’s experience, international contacts and ability to speak multiple languages, makes our program better immediately. Andrejs came and visited the Spartans this past season before making the decision to move from Europe and join the Spartans. After spending a week with the Spartans, he was very impressed with the Spartans organization and the community and felt very comfortable in making this major move to Canada with his wife Albina. His hiring is also going to benefit the entire hockey community in the region, as Andrejs and the Spartans will be launching their hockey school this fall.”

Our General Manager David Forde has got to know Andrejs over the past 3 years while spending time in Lithuania at the pre draft showcase, which has created great contacts for the Spartans Internationally and has resulted in 15 players joining the Spartans program from this event. Spartans General Manager David Forde had this to say about the addition of Savicevs “I am thrilled to have Andrejs joining our organization. I have got to know Andrejs and his wife over the past 3 years while travelling to Lithuania. Andrejs and his good friend Olegs Koreshkovs (Scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs), organize this first-class event every spring, which attracts top organizations from the GMHL, NCDC, NAHL, Switzerland Top Junior Division, Finland Top Junior Division and the Sweden Super Elite League.

Having had the opportunity to interact with Andrejs on a professional and personal level at this event and having hosted him here for a week last season, I feel 100 percent confident that he is a perfect fit for our program, our team of coaches and the community. He is going to help move our program to the next level, with the assistance of Andre Laperriere and Brandon Blanche who did a great job last season with a very young Spartans team. We have a coaching staff in place that is experienced, proven and extremely committed to developing players and winning a championship. It’s not very often you have 3 coaches in place who have all been head coaches at the Junior level. Our ownership group has brought in all of the right pieces off the ice, now it is my job in collaboration with my staff to bring in the right players to build another championship team”

Andrejs Savičevs had this to say about joining the Spartans “I am very excited to join the Spartans. I enjoy the North American style of game on smaller rinks, as it creates more action and creates battles for the puck. This season with the help of Andre and Brandon we will play a more structured system and force the play a lot more. We will be focusing on fitness and skill development every day with our players. Our goal is to win the cup, even though this is not an easy task, our team will do it’s best every night and compete hard as a group. I am confident we will have a very good team this season and I am looking forward to this new challenge in Canada. Another big factor in working towards a championship is the great ownership group in place here that ensures we have everything we need to prepare to be a championship team and the tremendous support we receive from the loyal Spartans fans. My two goals with our group this season and every year, is to try and win a championship and to push players to the next level of hockey. I can’t wait to meet everyone in the fall. To all of our players, staff, billets, sponsors and fans, I hope you are doing well and stay safe and healthy.”

Welcome aboard Andrejs Savičevs

The Almaguin Spartans are recruiting for the upcoming season.

With openings at several positions, General Manager and Head Recruiter David Forde is accepting player applications.

Please email almaguinspartans@gmail.com for additional details.

Congratulations to Spartans goaltender Martin Petiul on winning a silver medal last week with Team Lithuania at the IIHF U20 World Junior Championships Division II-Group A in Tallinn, Estonia.

The 2001 born goaltender has been a top prospect in the Spartans organization this season.

Martin has started 23 games posting an impressive 14-8-0 record in his rookie GMHL season.

The Spartans staff is very proud to see one of their own seeing success on the world stage!

The Almaguin Spartans got back to their regular winning ways with a 4:2 victory over the South Muskoka Shield on home ice this weekend. The Spartans have had their ups-and-downs during this rebuilding season, but this weekend’s victory was a step in the right direction for the organization.

Star forward Deivids Tempelmanis had four points and was the game’s first star.

Young shining goaltender Martin Petiul had another strong showing. The 2001 top goaltending prospect made 35 saves in the match to be the game’s second star while Captain Ralfs Circenis had two points himself.

Although the Spartans only won by a two goal spread, the Spartans carried the pace and also outshot the Shield 49-37.

Almaguin will look to finish the 2018 year strong with a home-and-home series against the West Nipissing Lynx next weekend.

Comeback Win Over Weekend

On Saturday night the Spartans hosted the New Tecumseth Civics (11-11-2). The last time the Civics were in town, the Spartans came back from down two in the third, only to give up the winning goal with 40 seconds left. Both clubs were looking to grab a very important 2 points as heading into the contest only 2 points separated the West Nipissing Lynx, Almaguin Spartans and New Tecumseth Civics between 4th and 6th place in the North Division.

The Spartans came out and carried the play to the Civics early on, but it would the Civics striking first. Skvortsov would tied the game at the 8:48 mark from Eruslanov, but the Civics would regain the lead before the end of the period. Four minutes into the second the Civics would grab a 3-1 lead. The Spartans would reply 36 seconds later as Gazimov snapped one from the point top shelve from Thorsen and Smith. Just over a minute later the Civics would score a beauty on a 3 on 2 rush. At the 12:32 mark of the second the Civics would score again on a 2 on 0 rush to take a commanding 5-2 lead. The Spartans faced a huge uphill battle heading in the third period. Head Coach Myles Pepin made a major adjustment to the Spartans forecheck and shuck up the line combinations with assistant coach Gary Coalter heading into the third period. These adjustments quickly paid off as Eruslanov would snap one home from Skvortsov to get things going. Less then two minutes later Circenis cut the lead to 5-4 as he ripped a slap shot top shelve off the rush from Thorsen. With 8 minutes remaining in the game Gazimov would score on a highlight reel goal on a breakaway from Circenis. The teams would trade chances back and forth and with only 40 seconds left in the game Flack would jam one home and bring the Spartans crowd to its feet on a goal mouth scramble from Gazimov and Circenis. The Civics would press in the final 40 seconds, but they were unable to solve Petiul. Final score 6-5 Spartans, shots 40-33 Spartans. Spartans are now in 4th place in the North Division with a 13-10-0 record.

Three Stars
1st Star Ildan Gazimov 2G, 1A
2nd Star Roman Kilakov (Civics) 2G, 2A
3rd Star Ralfs Circenis 1G, 2A

Spartans Head Coach Myles Pepin had this say about the Spartans performance “I thought we played descent in the first two periods, but we couldn’t get a bounce and Civics capitalized on every opportunity they had. We made some adjustments between the second and third period and the guys just went out in third and gave me everything they had and executed our game plan to a tee. Scoring four goals in the third, coming back from a three-goal deficit and grabbing a very important two points in the standings is a real confidence booster for our team. This is a character win and shows the fight and resiliency this team has. We have three very important practices this week before we take on two of the top clubs in the North Division. On Thursday we hit the road to take on Ville Marie and Friday we host the Titans. Were looking forward to this challenge and having a full line up this week is going to be key to playing 60 minutes of hard, disciplined, two-way hockey against both teams.”