After a season that saw the Melfort Mustangs finish atop the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) regular season standings, the man behind the bench is taking home some league hardware.
Trevor Blevins was named the SJHL coach of the year after leading the Mustangs to a 46-8-0-2 record and a first place finish in the Sherwood Division. Melfort finished 13 points clear of Flin Flon for top spot in the league.
In an interview with the Daily Herald, Blevins says he finds the award more indicative of the team’s performance rather then his own individual contributions.
“It’s always nice for individual recognition, but I find this as a team award through and through. Our organization from our board of directors to our volunteers, staff is fantastic. My assistant coach Tye Scherger deserves a lot of credit here too, our training staff and most importantly the players. It’s something you share in, right? I’m not a big believer in individual awards in team sports, but it’s something you share with everyone and I think it’s quite an accomplishment for the Melfort Mustangs organization.”
The Mustangs built off a successful 2023-24 campaign that saw them capture the Canterra Seeds Cup in six games over the Flin Flon Bombers and made a deep run at the Centennial Cup, finishing second.
Blevins says the returning core of Mustangs players came in with a winning attitude from the first day of training camp.
“Finishing second in the country was a very big accomplishment. No doubt we were very fortunate to be in that position. Every player that came back has unfinished business. I think we’ve been hungry right from the start of the year. It’s been a dialed in really focused group and we just flourished. I really feel not only do we have the talent, but there’s a big will to win in the dressing room and our leadership right from our captain down to our 25th player. They’ve been working hard all year and come to the rink with the right attitude and they deserve everything they’ve gotten so far. ”
At the time of publishing, the Mustangs held a 2-0 series lead in their second round series against the Yorkton Terriers. Games 3 and 4 were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday night in Yorkton. Results were not available at press time. If necessary, the series will shift back to the Northern Lights Palace for Game 5 on Saturday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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