Old Style Hockey: Welcome

Welcome to the Old Style Hockey Teams website !

2012 - 2013 Season is under way and Old Style is playing tremendous hockey to start the season. The goaltending has been solid, defensively as a team we are better and with an increased goal production this season is looking very bright for Old Style.

This season we will continue to win and lose as a team, we need all three lines to contribute and buy into the defence first approach. We are a solid team and should be one of the top teams in the league this season. 

The season runs from September to March and we play 22 regular season games and then up to 8 playoff games. We currently play at two Edmonton arena's:

Glengarry Arena  13340 - 85 Street

Westwood Arena 12040 - 97 Street

Old Style Hockey is an adult recreational team. Played for the passion of the game by men. The post game ritual of sitting around a cooler full of beer, exaggerating about skill levels or lack thereof is - as important if not more than the game itself. Sportsmanship, Camaraderie and Competition are the key elements.

2012 - 2013 Team Fees are due now it is $325.00 for the season, please get your money to either Kyle or Lee A.S.A.P.

If you will not be able to make any games or practices you can e-mail the Old Style Management Team at oldstylehockeyteam@gmail.com

Well the first half of the season is officially in the books for Old Style Hockey. Old Style are currently 8-5-1 through 14 games of this season.

Had I been told before the season started that Old Style was going to have 8 wins heading toward the Christmas break, I would have been very happy. Ironically, we do have 8 wins but I start to think how we should have maybe 9 or 10 wins. Maybe that is the greedy side of me, but I truly believe that we could even be better this season.

The main difference is Old Style’s unexpected hot start. Old Style started this season with a healthy roster, a new coaching system and some well known new faces. This team showed what it was capable of being through the first three months of the season. In comparison, Old Style has not had 10 wins in the previous 5 seasons combined. Old Style is cruising into the Christmas break. We are fighting for the top spot in the league with Pilot Sound Flyers and MSH Bolts.  

The good news for Old Style is that they are healthy and have no significant injuries.

With or without injuries, Old Style has to hold on to the belief that their aggressive forechecking, tenacious back checking and high scoring ability that they have had in October, November and December continues and drives them deep into the 2013 playoffs.

Some first half notes and musings:

• Steven Kokotilo is having a tremendous year. He is one of the leaders and deserves an All Star nod. He has changed how Old Style attacks and as we see more the forwards are utilizing him in the offensive attack.

• Kory Fedorak has been dominating the face-offs and continues to lead the league in face-off wins, second on the team only to his better looking and in better shape brother Kyle who remains at 100%. Kyle continues to be one of the better wingers on the team and still has that magic scoring touch. almost a hat-trick is something i never get tired of hearing.
  

• Glen”Ovi” Blade hasn’t had to be the Esa Tikkanen of our team this season, he has been able to come to the rink more relaxed (based on his pyjamas from the previous game - sorry Ovi) and simply out hustled and skated hard each shift. He is getting scoring chances and that is due to his tremendous efforts on the ice.

• “Doctor” Steve Clelland is one of the best defensemen on the team, he has tremendous vision on the ice, makes great breakout passes and is very opportunistic when jumping into the offensive play. He has made our defense as solid as it is.

• Surprisingly to everyone except us, Lee Vervynck and Tony Perri have made the transition to forward almost seamlessly and are critical components to the success of this team. Learning a new position and doing so without looking out of place is awesome.  Lee continues to amaze me, he goes from line to line and then back to defence and never misses a beat.

• Bob Kutcher is having a real good year. He is one of the top scorers on Old Style and this is what I was expecting when he joined our team. Kutcher came in ad simply just fit in with the team, it is like he has played here for many years. With that said, I think Kutcher could end up with 25-30 goals, which at this point will probably lead Old Style.

• Mike English is the stay at home defenseman that every team needs and relies on. He allows Gavin, Kokotilo and the Doctor to add some extra offensive pressure and create more scoring chances. His fearlessness when blocking shots is unheard-of in Men’s hockey. He is the quintessential team player and I for one, am glad he is with us.

• Lylle Kephart has had a somewhat disappointing season. He is one of the offensive leaders on the team yet he has missed 8 games with a leg injury. To be fair, Kephart has been playing with tons of different line mates, but now starting to really gel with Jeff Hohl and creating that chemistry that will only reap rewards going forward. The combination of Jeff’s goal scoring ability, Tony’s hard work and ability to find the open ice and Lylle’s soft hands, this line will continue to be considered the “Big” line.

• Marc Ares, Rob Toal and Harold Rozak have been playing great hockey. Toal is elevating his line mates, and Ares and Rozak has been scoring to compliment their hard working skills. The “Hair” Line as it is referred to as one of the best shutdown lines in the league. They outwork EVERY other line in the entire league. Our team’s success is because of this line.

• Gavin Lawrence, who was signed 6 days before the season started has been phenomenal. He’s top 10 in defensive scoring, and has been an energetic part of Old Style.

• Dave Kahanyshyn has been the go to guy this season when we are short and fits the Old Style team like a glove (maybe a hairy glove). He gives us another puck moving defenseman and offensive threat on the blue line. I really like having him on our team and would like to make that spot a more permanent one.

• What can be said about Scott Upshall and Arno Schewe that hasn’t been said already? Is there a better goaltending tandem in the League? I think not. Both of them raised their games this season. Upshall is one of the most talented netminders in the world, and has been very solid in his first full season with the team. He makes unreal saves on a nightly basis and that is why we love him! Arno continues to show more consistency this year and definitely has exceeded expectations. He has played well and the team had responded. Both goalies have been awesome and put us in a position to win each night!

As for the rest of this year, I am optimistic. By nature, I am a glass half full kind of guy. I truly believe Old Style will obviously make the playoffs but I am thinking they are going to have a deep run.

Anything is possible for this team, I have seen it.

I personally want to thank everyone for a great start to the 2012-2013 season. I know that some people think we take this too seriously but sometimes in life you have to be serious to successful.

I want to remind everyone that Old Style is successful because of each of you reading this e-mail (if you have read this far)

Happy Holidays and see you all back on the ice on January 10^th against Pilot Sound.

Old Style’s roster for the 2012-13 definitely has the right mix to win hockey games. “I feel really good about our team,” said Old Style’s general manager Lee Vervynck. “We have tremendous depth. You look at us from top to bottom, we have a lot of talent and skill. We have some grit, we have some size, we have some skill … It’s a good mix of what I think it takes to win hockey games.”

With a record of 7-5-1 coming up to the Christmas break, that is the best record that they have held at this time and with 7 wins in the first half of the season, that surpasses their record for most wins in a season already.

That was apparent last night as Old Style gave an old fashioned beat down (14 - 5) to the Kilkenny Cougars. Old Style had contributions from all three forward lines, the defense was jumping into the play to add more threats and they managed our defensive zone very effectively. The real story was the play of Arno Schewe, each time he plays we hear the same phrase “ best game of the year” but yet he comes out for the next game and over-achieves yet again. He has played phenomenal and we will need him to going forward.

Most of the talk this season has been of the additions of Rob Toal, Bob Kutcher, Gavin Lawrence and Scott Upshall. But a lot can be said about the play of the Fedorak brothers. Twin brother separated at birth, one was cared for and nurtured while the other had to learn to support and defend himself on the mean streets of the Quarry. Ok maybe that part is not true but the comparison to the movie twins is uncanny. Kyle is the fan favorite who kills penalties and adds an offensive threat — Kory has been dominant in the face-offs and is showing no signs of slowing down, combined with Glen “Ovi” Blade, this line is really in sync as of late.

This has been a tough season for Old Style center Lylle Kephart but we are glad to see him getting back on track. “He was a big part of our team last year and he plays with a lot of heart, enthusiasm,” he said. “It’s hard to find guys like him … We’re glad he is a part of our team.”