When you hail from Dogpound, you’re going to have some junkyard dog in you. And that’s just fine with the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) Trojans.
The Trojans, locked in an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) men’s hockey final with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Ooks, have tapped into J.D. Watt’s junkyard dog with biting results.
The 25-year-old forward, who won a Memorial Cup with the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants in 2007, plays in all game situations for the Trojans – power play, penalty kill, top forward line. He finished his first ACAC season with 13 goals and 27 assists in 28 games. He has two goals, two assists and 18 penalty minutes in six playoff games, including a goal March 16 in a 4-3 Game 2 win over NAIT.
Drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2005 (fourth round, 111th overall), Watt played East Coast League and American League hockey in cities like Las Vegas, San Antonio and Abbotsford, B.C., before coming home to start his first year in energy asset management and play for SAIT.
His Trojans are tied 1-1 in the best-of-5 ACAC men’s hockey final, with Game 3 going March 22 at NAIT in Edmonton.
“It’s been a lot of fun. I’m really enjoying it,” Watt said of his SAIT rookie season. “I’m having a great time doing the school part, learning a lot. Hockey’s been really fun, we’re having a great season.”
And, while the level of hockey he’s playing now isn’t as demanding as it was during 70-game seasons in the American League with Abbotsford, the competition is still good.
“It’s tough to make a comparison,” he said. “Every level of hockey, there’s always good players. We’ve got some excellent players on our team. The play gets a little bouncy and a little unstructured at times, but it’s a lot of fun and very competitive.”
And SAIT coach Ken Babey’s coaching style isn’t quite as exacting as Giants head coach Don Hay’s, who is a stickler for details.
“It would be a little more casual than that,” Watt said when asked to compare coaches. “Don Hay was so structured. He would break down video to the point where, if your heels were two inches to the left or to the right of where he wanted them, he would be giving you heck.
“Ken Babey runs a pretty tight ship here. He’s a motivational coach who gets a lot out of his players. As a result, we go out, we have fun and put forward a high-paced game.”
And that high pace has Watt and his teammates eyeing an ACAC men’s hockey title. The Trojans knocked a very good Augustana Vikings team out in the semifinals 3-1 to get to the final against NAIT. The finalists split their regular-season series 2-2, with all the wins coming at home.
“NAIT’s got a very good team. I think we have good team. It’s going to be a really good challenge. We match up really well.”
