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Crusaders’ stellar start sees them ranked second in nation

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For a team that hasn’t played a game in almost a week, the Sherwood Park Crusaders certainly managed to keep themselves in the news cycle.

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One of the biggest tidbits to filter down this week was that their pristine 7-0 start to the season has not gone unnoticed as they have been heavily highlighted in the most recent Canadian Junior Hockey League Top 20 rankings.

The Crusaders, who didn’t even merit an honorable mention in the pre-season poll, have moved all the way up to second in the entire country.

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“Obviously our group wants to strive to be the best that we can be,” said Crusaders head coach Adam Manah. “We’re not there yet, but we are in a good spot right now. There is still a long way to go and we know that. It’s great to be rated No. 2, but we have to keep going. There is no stopping or getting complacent or thinking that things are going to get easier. It’s almost like we will have a bullseye on our backs now with every team wanting to beat us. There is no sneaking up on teams like we might have done a little bit last year. Everyone is aware of what kind of team we are this year.”

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With their blazing beginning as a team comes some impressive individual stats as the Wrecking Cru line of Carter Savoie, Will Zapernick and captain Arjun Atwal occupy the three top spots in the Alberta Junior Hockey League scoring race. Arwal leads the entire league with 19 points, followed by Savoie and Zapernick with 17 points apiece.

The Crusaders have traded forward Zafir Rawji to the Olds Grizzlys in exchange for future considerations. Photo courtesy Target Photography
The Crusaders have traded forward Zafir Rawji to the Olds Grizzlys in exchange for future considerations. Photo courtesy Target Photography

Savoie was the one who garnered the most attention this week, as last year’s CJHL Rookie of the Year won a couple more awards this week, named both the AJHL’s player of the week and player of the month.

The 17 year-old University of Denver commit recorded eight points (5G, 3A) in two Crusaders victories during the annual Showcase, including his first AJHL hat trick, to merit the weekly award.

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“It’s impressive,” Manah said. “Just watching him grow and get better every day. Carter is a guy who wants to prove everybody wrong. It’s not that he is in the shadow of his brother (highly-touted future top NHL draft pick Matthew), it’s that he is right up there with him and shouldn’t be overlooked. We are all very proud of him. He has proven that he is a legit player in our league and one who is not to be taken lightly in terms if this year’s NHL draft. He was something special to watch last weekend.”

Savoie is averaging 2.4 points per game and is tied for the most goals (nine) and most game winning goals (two) following the first month of the regular season.

The Crusaders also made a trade as the additions of WHL drop-downs in forwards Blake Sydlowski and Davis Murray created a bit of glut up front, prompting the Sherwood squad to trade forward Zafir Rawji (2001) to the Olds Grizzlys in exchange for future considerations.

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“This is a tough day for the coaches, myself, and our organization,” said Crusaders GM  Kyle Chase, in a team release. “Zafir has been an excellent part of our building and rebuilding process. He’s a leader both on and off the ice, and, unfortunately, we couldn’t give him the minutes he deserved.”

Rawji played in 40 regular season games for the Crusaders and scored 13 points (four goals, nine assists).

“We just couldn’t get Rawj the minutes he deserved,” Manah said. “He is a good player and we all know that. With us being a deep hockey team, not everybody is going to get in on a regular basis. He was one of those guys. He is a tremendous kid, great in the dressing room, and we felt that we owed him an opportunity to play somewhere else in the league where he could get a top six role and some power play time because he is a skilled guy who can make plays. Hopefully he will get that opportunity in Olds and we wish him all the best.”

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The Crusaders haven’t played since Saturday but that rest will be needed with three games in two-and-a-half days this weekend on a southern road trip.

The Cru will face the Canmore Eagles on Friday night, followed by a swing to Okotoks against Oilers on Saturday evening and a game in Olds against the Grizzlys on Sunday afternoon.

“We are going to tested,” Manah said. “It will really show us how we can handle the south teams, but also our conditioning and stamina levels.”

The Crusaders next home game is on Friday, Oct. 11 when they host the Fort McMurray Oil Barons at 7 p.m. at the Sherwood Park Arena.

sjones@postmedia.com

twitter.com/Realshanejones

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