By ROY LANG III, Journal Sports
As the page turns to the 2022-23 season, Jason Campbell and the Shreveport Mudbugs’ hockey operations department have some work to do.
The Mudbugs will likely have to replenish more than half their roster as 12 players born in 2001 will be ineligible due to the North American Hockey League’s age limitations.
The Mudbugs are looking for some size. They need some skill. They must add a host of defenseman and a goaltender.
And that’s not the biggest challenge.
“We had some true competitors that really epitomized and tried to execute to the best of their abilities what it means to be a Mudbug and what it means to put the time and effort in to be a champion,” Campbell said.
In addition to championship experience (Shreveport won the Robertson Cup in 2021), big bodies — with plenty of skill — are moving on to the next level, such as Tim Khokhlachev (6-foot-4, 215) and Austin Brimmer (6-3, 205).
Shreveport will need to replace its top-five point-getters (Brimmer, Connor Gatto, Burke Simpson, Khokhlachev, Lukas Sedlacek) from the 2021-22 campaign in addition to its No. 1 goaltender, Devon Bobak.
“Hopefully (all those leaving) left an impression on the guys who are still here regarding what they need to do if they want to be a champion again,” Campbell said. “We’re definitely going to miss these guys – their personalities, their work ethic, what they brought to the team and the community. But, at the same time, there is always rollover and there is always somebody ready and hungry for an opportunity.
“There are going to be a lot of opportunities next season.”
Team captain Garrett Steele is the top scorer eligible to return to the Mudbugs. The Chelsea, Mich., product scored 11 goals in this third season in Shreveport. With 146 regular-season games played in teal and purple, the forward will have an opportunity to break the NAHL franchise record of games played – Davis Goukler, 164.
The Mudbugs’ rebuilding process will begin when Main Camp opens Aug. 12 on George’s Pond at Hirsch Coliseum.
“We’ll bring in enough players to build four teams,” Campbell said. “It will be a good mix of players.”
Mudbugs’ departures
The following players on the Shreveport Mudbugs’ 2022 playoff roster will not return due to the NAHL’s age limitations:
Devon Bobak (G)
Austin Brimmer (F)
Connor Gatto (F)
Davis Goukler (D)
Carter Green (D)
John Hallard (D)
Trenten Heyde (D)
Gunner Moore (D)
Timofei Khokhlachev (F)
Jacob Onstott (F)
Lukas Sedlacek (F)
Burke Simpson (F)
Former Mudbug Feczko gets another ring
Billy Feczko, traded from Shreveport to New Jersey at the deadline this season, helped the New Jersey Titans win a Robertson Cup championship Tuesday night in Blaine, Minnesota. The Titans’ 3-0 victory over Anchorage, a first-year NAHL franchise, came 11 months after Feczko lifted the Robertson Cup in a Mudbugs sweater.
Feczko played 148 games over four seasons in Shreveport. He scored four goals and compiled 15 points in 20 regular-season games with the Titans and tallied twice in the postseason.
Photo by CHRISTI LANG