They've been up and down, hot and cold so far this season.
In September and October, the Humboldt Broncos could not be stopped. They were in the top 10 of the Canadian Junior A Hockey League rankings for weeks at a time, and held the top spot in the country at one point.
However, in recent weeks, the team has faltered and played inconsistently. As of the Christmas break, they were sitting in third spot in the Bauer Conference of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and in fifth spot in the league as a whole, behind the Yorkton Terriers, LaRonge Ice Wolves, Melfort Mustangs and Kindersley Klippers.
"It's been up and down really," said head coach Dean Brockman when asked to characterize the season so far. The Journal caught up with Brockman just prior to the Christmas break.
"When we're good, we're pretty good, and when we've been poor, we're not very good at all," he stated.
The focus of the team, he admitted, has been a little split as the Broncos prepare to host the 2012 RBC Cup tournament - Canada's national Junior A hockey championship. As the host team, Humboldt gets an automatic berth into the tournament next season.
"Certainly, we have to go out there to win every time we go out," he said. "I don't like to look much past that."
But in the back of his mind, he said, he wants to make sure the players on his team are ready for next year as well.
"It's been a bit of a struggle for sure, trying to figure out where everbody fits in," he said of the roster for both this year and next.
Brockman attributed the ups and downs of the season so far to a couple of things, though he's unsure, he said, of the root cause of the situation.
"I can't really put my finger on it," he admitted. "It seems like we've had some inexperience come into play.... with the grind of the season, especially on our defensive core."
They have a number of players on their back end that are in their first season in junior hockey.
"They're a little bit uptight," Brockman said.
There have been some injuries, and a flu bug going around the team, he added.
But the bottom line, he said, is that "I haven't really had 20 guys giving me everything they've got on a given night."
Most nights, they have 10 guys giving it their all, and 10 who are not, he indicated.
Whether it's because of the wide age range of the players or something else, all the guys are not on the same page on the same night, he agreed.
That shows in their scores as well as their results - they've won big and lost big this season.
"There's no consistency to anything we've done so far," he said
That consistency is something the team has to find before the end of the season, Brockman agreed, and he feels that will come with the development of work ethic over the course of time.
"Developing that work ethic is part of a young team," Brockman said, adding that over half his team has less than a full season of junior hockey under their belts.
The season, he added, really is hard on the players, especially the young ones.
"I don't think people realize the grind," Brockman said. This fall, the team played 16 games in 26 days.
"It's a tough schedule," Brockman said. "With a younger group, that's a challenge in itself."
The only way to deal with the situation is for the young players to get used to it, and that takes time to simply build up experience.
There is talent on the team.
"The development of our young guys is fun to watch,
Brockman said. "I think there's huge potential there....
"For a lot of them, they've shown that they can play at a high level. That's the frustrating part - that we can't see that consistently out there."
Is the team gelling?
There's always a division between the younger and the older players on any junior hockey team, Brockman noted, and this year, that could be a little bit worse. The younger guys will be going to the RBC Cup for sure, as the host team, and because of that, the 20-year-old players are feeling a little jealous.
However, Brockman said, "considering all that's happening, they're doing fine."
For those older players, the coaches have done what they can "to make this season about this year, and not next year," Brockman said.
The 20-year-olds do hear all the talk in the community about next season - a season they won't be with the team.
"We have to remember that this season is equally as important as next season," Brockman said. "We have six 20-year-olds who want to play and focus on this season."
Perhaps because of the focus on next year, none of the older players have taken the reins to lead the team. A lack of leadership could be "a bit of our issue," Brockman admitted. "Everyone is cautious to step forward," he said.
Despite the issues, "I don't want to write off this year by any stretch," Brockman said.
Neither do their fans. Crowds at the rink have been good despite some weird weather so far this year, and the construction going on around the hockey rink that's made it less welcoming.
"Our fans have been behind us all the way," Brockman said.
