Image credit: Kamloops Blazers

By Earl Seitz

Shaun Clouston

Shaun Clouston on the ’19-’20 season, and we’ll never know what could have been.

May 1, 2020 | 6:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — It’s been 52 days since the Kamloops Blazers played their last game of the season — although it wasn’t until seven days later that they learned it was the last game.

On March 17 when the Western Hockey League cancelled the rest of the season.

The Blazers had already clinched the B.C. Division title, and with 41 wins and five games left, were on the way to their best finish since back-to-back 47 win seasons in 2012 and 2013.

There was potential to make a deep playoff run.

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Shaun Clouston would much rather be coaching his team in what would now be the Western Conference final, than sitting at home in Medicine Hat biding his time.

“We were really a team. There were a lot of things that went into that, and you just wish you could put your finger on everything, and make that happen every single year.” says Clouston.

It did’nt start out sunshine and roses —– three straight losses to begin the season, before things started to come together.

“Things really came together with our older guys. With the depth of the team —- with the chemistry and commradery.”

After those first three games there were peaks and valleys ——– but more peaks than valleys, and it wasn’t long until the Blazers were in first place and with a lead of 14 points in B.C. when the rug was pulled out with five games left.

“There were small downturns — some obstacles.” says Clouston. “At that time we could look back at the beginning of the season or the smaller downturns and says ‘hey, this is how we handled it before, we’ve got this, let’s do it again.”

Two key trades early added to the depth at leadership — acquiring a pair of overage players in forward Ryan Hughes and defenceman Max Martin.

Hughes and Martin along with team captain Zane Franklin won’t be back.

Clouston says the leadership and the legacy left by Franklin, Hughes and Martin rubbed off.

“We talk about our overage players, and then you look at the core of the team — the middle part of the team. We had so many players take big steps this year. You look at the bottom lineup — you look at Bankier, Seminoff and Kuefler —– those guys by the end of the season they weren’t just getting a handful of shifts — they were going on the ice, they were contributing, they were spending time in the offensive zone, they were creating chances, drawing penalties and chipping in with some offence. So those are really, really good signs.”

Clouston says of a season that was left hanging with so many unknowns —– if only we could have known.

“By the end of the season we beat Vancouver, we beat Victoria we beat the teams we needed to beat. We end up 13-14 points up top again. That was a really good sign for me. When we have to find more we were able to find it. I think it would have been really challenging for teams to beat us four times.”