Leafs bolster goaltending by signing Sam Burford from AJHL
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Strange that a team leading the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League in goals against would made a deal to bolster its goaltending, but that’s a deal the Nelson Leafs had to make this past week.
The Green and White signed 6’1”, 174-pound netminder, Sam Burford from the Sherwood Park Crusaders of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
The roster moves leaves rookie Quinn Yeager as the odd man out as the Leafs open a two-game weekend Friday with a home date against the Golden Rockets at 7 p.m. in the NDCC Arena.
“We have released Quinn Yeager and hope to make a deal to move him to another team within our league,” said Leafs General Manager Lance Morey about the mid-week move.
“Quinn is an excellent young man and has the potential of being a very good goalie at this level,’ Morey added. “Replacing him was a very tough decision but we felt bringing in Burford was a step up.”
The 5’9”, 170-pound rookie of Calgary has been nothing short of stellar in the Leaf nets this season, sporting a 3-2-1 record with a 2.42 goals against average.
The stats put Yeager in the elite bracket of KIJHL goalies, ninth overall behind teammate and the league’s best netminder, Josh Williams.
Burford arrives in Nelson with a 4.83 goals against average having played five games for the 7-7-1 Crusaders who play in the North Division of the AJHL.
The Crusaders joined the AJHL in 1976 as the Edmonton Crusaders moving to Sherwood Park two years later. The second oldest organization next to the Calgary Canucks, the franchise has won the North Division Championships five times.
Living on the road proves friendly to Green and White
Nelson return to meet the Rockets Friday following an impressive five game road trip where the Green and White finished with a 4-0-0-1 record, registering points in all five games.
During the trip, Nelson outscored the opposition 27-11.
In October, the Leafs are 5-1-0-1 with the lone setbacks coming against KIJHL heavyweights Beaver Valley Nitehawks and Kimberley Dynamiters — two teams Nelson is a lowly 1-2-0-1 against.
Nelson leads the Murdoch Division with a 11-2-0-1 record, a slim one-point advantage over Beaver Valley.
The Nitehawks continue to be the hottest team in the league with eight consecutive wins, including a 5-3 home ice victory Tuesday in Fruitvale over Castlegar Rebels.
Cooper, Hunt lead leafs offensively
Ryan Cooper and Leafs captain Sawyer Hunt lead the Leafs in scoring with 16 points.
Cooper, who sat for two of the three weekend road games through the Eddie Mountain Division last week, leads the Leafs in goals with nine.
David Sanchez is third with 15 points while Jackson Zimmermann is fourth with 11 and Jack Karran fifth with 10 points.
