DIDSBURY - With the Mountainview Colts set to open the 2024-25 season at home on Sept. 20 against the Agra Risk Wheatland Kings, preparations for the new campaign are coming along nicely, says first-year head coach Ron Doig.
The Heritage Junior Hockey League team plays out of the Didsbury Memorial Complex.
The team’s September exhibition games against Airdrie, Cochrane and High River provided lots of opportunity to evaluate and plan for the upcoming season, he said.
“We are just letting the players get out there and play right now so we can see where they are,” Doig told the Albertan.
The team will be relying on a number of returning veterans as well as several newcomers as the regular season gets underway, he said.
“Most of the guys that we are going to be counting on are skating well and working hard at practice,” he said. “We hope to have a good look at everyone we plan to start the season with.”
Doig and his coaching staff will be choosing the 2024-25 team captain before Friday’s home opener against the Kings, he said.
Originally from Hanna and now an Olds resident, Doig takes over from former head coach Dan Visser, who was with the team since 2015.
Asked what he sees as the Colts’ style in the upcoming season, Doig said, “I think my base is being defensively sound. I’m real big on teaching and coaching good habits, so that’s kind of what we will be looking at.”
Following Friday’s game, the Colts will travel to Rocky Mountain House on Sept. 21 to take on the Rams, followed by a Sept. 27 tilt against Cochrane at the Didsbury Memorial Complex.
