After a tough playoff-ending overtime loss to the Calgary Canucks on March 24th, the Grande Prairie Storm are officially out of the 2024 AJHL Playoffs.
Despite the loss, Storm Head Coach Eric Thurston says there are a number of key takeaways from not only the playoffs but the season as a whole.
“Our guys certainly did not quit, our guys battled back to take it into overtime and once you get into overtime every shot counts and every shot matters,” he says. “That’s the tough part because all of a sudden your season is done when you’re hoping and you’re not wanting it to in any way shape or form.”
Storm fans will remember the series began in overtime as well, and Coach Thurston says the fact that all of the games except for game five were decided by just one goal is a good sign that the Storm can keep up in the playoffs.
“Any time you get into tight playoff series as we did, I think we were very tightly matched with Calgary, I think that’s just part of the sport, I think we certainly grew from our season last year,” he says. “You want to be able to continue to grow each year, and I know we’ve got a good foundation in place for our team next season.”
Looking ahead to next season, Thurston says the onus is on the team’s staff to ensure a strong showing next year. He says recruiting new players and developing returning skaters will be top of mind as a staff this season.
“We just saw some phenomenal growth up front from some of our first-year guys, but we’re going to need, the coaching staff, the General Manager, to work hard to bring in players to surround those guys,” he says. “It’s up to us to do a good job of recruiting and developing players, signing them, and then seeing how things unfold for our success next year.”
Thurston says he plans to continue building on the foundation that is already established on his team, and he says the Storm’s strong defensive core will continue to be utilized next season.
“In my opinion you look to build a team from your goaltender out, so if we have Nick Jones back, we’re in great shape, he’s a phenomenal kid, a very very good goalie, I really like our defense, I think we’re going to be solid back there.”
Thurston says recruiting will begin this off-season and plans to provide quality entertainment to Storm fans will continue next season.