Wolves Season Recap
April 26, 2016
The two-year-old Wenatchee Wolves development team has completed another successful season. During the 2015-16 season, the Wolves competed in both the NAPHL and NPHL, where they finished with an overall record of 55-15-1 (.782).
This was the team’s first season in the NAPHL U18-Tier 1 league, which is one of the top U18-Tier 1 leagues in the country. During NAPHL play, the Wolves had a record of 10-14-1 (.420). The team earned victories over Pikes Peak, St. Louis Selects, Washington Little Capitals (x2), Arizona Bobcats (x2), HC Dallas, Lockport Express, POE, and the San Diego jr. Gulls. Wolves players Jonathan Banovetz, Bronson Moore, Hayden Givens, and Hunter Alden were all named to the NAPHL’s Top Prospect Event in Edina, MN. Meanwile, Banovetz, Denton Hymer, and Raymond Fleming were named to the NAPHL’s All-Academic Team.
The Wolves also competed this season in the NPHL, a Junior A-Tier 3 league. As a U18 team competing in the junior league, the Wolves were able to win a regular season and play-off championship, finishing with 45-1-0 (.978) record in NPHL play. The team’s regular season record was the best winning percentage ever recorded in the 15-year history of the league. Hayden Givens, Brayden Durante, and Bronson Moore all garnered NPHL Player of the Month Awards. Banovetz and Fleming were able to win NPHL Student-Athlete of the Month Awards during the season. Moore led all NPHL goaltenders in each major statistical category, including Win%, Save%, GAA, and Shutouts. At the time this article was written, no end-of-the-year awards for the NPHL have been announced.
Starting in 2016-17 the Wenatchee Wolves will compete solely as a U18-Tier 1 team. The team will continue to play in the highly competitive NAPHL, while supplementing the NAPHL games with an independent schedule against other U18-Tier 1 teams. The team will not remain in the NPHL junior league. The expectation is to play approximately 40-50 games, all at the U18-Tier 1 level. This provides Wolves players with significant exposure to all the top Junior A and NCAA teams in North America, while allowing the program to spend more time focused on development through the structured on-ice and off-ice program that the Wolves offer. Tryouts for the Wolves are taking place May 13-15 in Wenatchee. Interested players can register for camp at the team website, www.wenatcheewilddevelopmentteams.com.
