HUMBOLDT — After only spending a week in the community in 2020-21, Reilly McKinnon’s second stint with the Humboldt Broncos has been longer, very successful for the squad, and earned him a post secondary opportunity.
The 20-year-old defenceman has helped the Broncos post the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s second-best record, 38-12-0-0, as of Feb. 17. The Trail, B.C. product has announced his commitment to play next season for the State University of New York at Canton’s NCAA Division III hockey team.
“He works extremely hard on the ice, he is also a fantastic community ambassador off the ice, being involved in many initiatives away from the rink,” Broncos head coach Scott Barney said on the team’s website. “He’s the kind of guy that you would take 20 of on your team and we’re extremely proud of his accomplishment.”
McKinnon’s sister, Halle, is a forward for SUNY Canton’s women’s hockey team. On the Broncos website, McKinnon said “She’s been a big part in my success and getting recognized by SUNY Canton.” While his sister is pursuing nursing, he plans to study construction management.
In November of 2020, the Humboldt team acquired McKinnon from Drayton Valley of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He came to Humboldt and went into isolation, following the COVID-19 protocols at time. McKinnon did not meet any of his teammates and was unable to practice or play in any games before the SJHL halted and eventually cancelled its season. This time around he is playing important minutes on the Broncos blue line.
“Reilly has been a calming presence on the back end for us,” Barney said in an interview. “He’s always reliable defensively and makes his first pass always on the sticks, which helps us create our offence.”
As of Thursday, the 6-foot, 190-pound McKinnon had three goals and 15 points in 50 games. This is almost double the eight points he had in 2019-20, his lone full season of Junior A hockey.
“I think I’ve been successful this year in putting up points because I just continue to tell myself ‘play your game, play simple, make plays and points will come,’” McKinnon said in an interview. “If you change your game and start getting down because points aren’t coming your way, that’s when you will struggle most. Also, a big key is having four deep, skilled lines of forwards and three strong pairs of defencemen that do their jobs - that has helped contribute to my success.”
As well, McKinnon is still dedicated to doing his job at the other end of the ice. Barney praised him for being instrumental in the team’s penalty killing success.
“I’ve always been a defensive defenceman in my career so I think it just came naturally that I’m a penalty killer and, over time, I just found an enjoyment to killing off those big penalties so my teammates can boost off it and go do their job up front in the offensive zone,” McKinnon said.
He has certainly been having fun in his final junior season. “The thing I think I enjoy most about playing for the Broncos is being able to come to the rink every day, play in front of some amazing fans, and getting to play hockey with an amazing group of coaches, trainers and players and make memories that will last a lifetime,” McKinnon said.
After being in isolation during his first stint in Humboldt, McKinnon has enjoyed being in the community this season. Teammate Lucas Ceccarelli and McKinnon billet with Blake, Dana, Sophie, Hadley and Harper Rath. McKinnon said: “I’m beyond grateful to have the opportunity to live with such an amazing, caring and fun family in my last year of junior hockey that makes every minute of living in Humboldt unforgettable.”
The Broncos last week
Friday, Feb. 18 in Nipawin
Humboldt 6, Nipawin 0
Broncos Scorers: Jerzy Orchard (3), Lucas Ceccarelli (2), Connor McGrath
Goalies: Chase Hamm, Nipawin, 31 saves on 37 shots; Rayce Ramsay, Humboldt, 22 on 22
Attendance: 564
Notes: Humboldt held a 1-0 lead after the first period and 3-0 after the second. Nipawin’s Kye Whillans and Humboldt’s Cage Newans dropped the gloves in the third period. Kade Olsen and Alex Morozoff each had two assists. “I thought we played a strong 60 minutes from start to finish and we’re very good on the defensive side of the puck,” Humboldt head coach Scott Barney said. “It was great to see Orchard get rewarded with his three-goal performance and, obviously, Rayce made the big saves when needed.”
Saturday, Feb. 19 in Kindersley
Kindersley 3, Humboldt 2
Broncos Scorers: Jerzy Orchard, Rhett Gibson
Klippers Scorers: Aidan Bangs, Carson Baylis, Andrew Schaab
Goalies: William Dyke, Humboldt, 14 saves on 17 shots; Matthew Presenti, Kindersley, 42 on 44
Attendance: 648
Notes: Each team scored twice in the first two period. Kindersley go the game winner in the third. As of Saturday, Gibson had seven points in his last six games. “In Kindersley we faced a team that was playing for there playoff lives,” Humboldt head coach Scott Barney said. “We made some adjustments to the line up to get some players into game action. I thought we took the game to them for the majority of it but made some costly mistakes that they took advantage of. Pesenti, their goalie, had an outstanding game.”
SJHL/MJHL Showcase Rosters
Humboldt Broncos featured prominently on the announced Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League rosters for the SJHL/Manitoba Junior Hockey League Showcase. The event, slated for Winnipeg in January, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the SJHL decided to have its coaches still select teams to recognize players. The Broncos making the roster included:
Team Schwartz (2003 and younger): Ethan Zielke, F; Noah Barlage, D
Team Mitchell: Matthew Perkins, F; Connor McGrath, F; Braiden Koran, F; Lucas Ceccarelli, F; Alec Saretzky, F; Cody Hough, D; Nicksha Eric, D
The Week
The Humboldt Broncos (39-13-0-0, as of Saturday) hosted Kindersley (23-26-1-1) on Family Day after the Journal deadline. On Wednesday, the Melville Millionaires (17-26-8-1) visit. The Broncos hit the road to play the Battlefords North Stars (27-14-5-1) on Saturday.
