At a time when The Neepawa Natives are ramping up with the anticipation of a highly successful upcoming season, one would expect that September of 2010 cannot arrive soon enough.

 

Yet, it is September of 2012 that is a date that Neepawa Natives' hockey operations staff have circled on their proverbial calendar.

 

That is the date that all of the 1995 born players - who were drafted or acquired through trades at MJHL Draft 2010 - can begin to impact the Neepawa organization as seventeen year old players.

 

Actually, in the fall of 2011, two sixteen year olds are able to join the team according to Hockey Canada's rule that says each team can have two 16 year old players per year.

 

The reality is that the core of MJHL Draft 2010's choices and acquisitions by The Natives will be ready to go for 2012.

 

"This is a very good group of players," said Neepawa Natives coach Bryant Perrier. "It has a lot of ingredients."

 

The first list of ingredients were addressed early in the day, as The Natives acquired the three players chosen in rounds one and two by Addison Division's Selkirk Steelers.

 

"We were able to acquire, through future condiderations owed to us, three players who fit our top two criteria," Perrier said. "We got extremely competitive natures and we got three guys who cannot stand to lose."

 

The three players Perrier is referring to are twin forwards Tavish and Teagan Quinn of Flin Flon, and goaltender Matthew Short of Shoal Lake.

 

"Those three guys we acquired are competitors through and through. They are culture changers. These guys do not know the meaning of the words 'back down', or 'quit."

All three are respected players who don't carry a lot of the fanfare of other top picks.

 

"The added bonus is none of those three have gotten the recognition they deserve. So, we are hoping they have a little something to prove. That is a great fuel for them and we believe all three of these players (Quinn, Quinn and Short) will head into their careers with a bit of a chip on their shoulders for proving people wrong."

 

All the more attractive to the organization.

 

"That is why we went out of the box to acquire them."

 

In the fourth and fifth rounds, The Natives made their first selections, taking local forward Quintin Lisoway and local defenceman Nolan Speiss - satisfying the organization's need for pure skill and ability.

 

Perrier says that their postal code had nothing to do with the picks.

 

"Two great players, and two guys that we would have taken regardless of where they live. Just two fine hockey players."

 

With their third pick, they achieved the highly cerebral and intellectual style of Grose Isle's Drake Lindsay, a player they had rated in their organization's top 10 for the day.

 

"We were shocked Drake was available at that point," said the coach. "He is a player with tremendous instincts and an ability to see the game at a high level. We feel he will succeed at the next level when he begins playing with more players he can read off of."

 

The next two picks - Jonathan Kasdorf of Niverville and Cody Cherepuschak of Brandon - brought the final ingredients of depth and toughness.

 

"Kasdorf is a solid hockey player who comes highly recommended," Perrier said. "He comes from a hockey family, he can play the game and he really has a game that we feel can become a very important part of our organization. He brings us depth in every area because he is well rounded."

 

"Cherepuschak brings us toughness. He battles, works, has a ton of compete, plays physical and he knows how to use his size. He is a great pick. He is a guy who plays like we play by being on the edge and with great effort."

 

When all was said and done, the coach believes that MJHL Draft 2010 will have a profound  impact on The Natives organization.

 

"We got everything we needed today for our organization. Grit, toughness, competitive natures, skill, intelligence. We are happy."

 

Attributes the coach cannot wait to work with immediately.

 

"We will start to work on helping these young men and their families define their hockey options and to help them learn more of what it takes to play at the next level."

 

Time that Perrier and his staff cannot wait to invest.

 

"Our staff cannot wait to help these guys become great Natives. Their families and coaches to date have done a great job. We are grateful for all the work that has gone into these promising careers."

 

"Now it is time to help them become great junior level players."