October 1, 2026: ALBERTA’S ROSTER
The Evil Monkeys have had loads of players recruited later in the recruitment season. The recruitment report from July 14, 2026 has changes.
Goaltenders:
Returning:
1 Ethan Lawczynski G (0-0-0, 0.00 GAA, .000 S%)
Arrivals:
31 Sean Cootes – G – Drumheller (AJHL)
35 Beckett Langkow – G – Ontario Tech (OUA)
Departures:
30 Ethan Kruger G (7-6-3, 3.20 GAA, .891 S%)
35 Ethan Barwick G (5-1-1, 3.94 GAA, .865 S%)
31 Drew Sim G (3-6-0, 4.43 GAA, .848 S%)
Lawczynski is the only returning goalie, and he never played a game last year. Kruger has graduated. Barwick was a transfer from Northern Michigan (NCAA) and Sim was a transfer from Concordia of Edmonton (ACAC). Neither is indicated at Elite Prospects to be recruited elsewhere. They have poached Langkow from Ontario Tech. His OUA career numbers (over two seasons) are a respectable 19-12-1, 2.73 GAA, .917 S%. Elite Prospects lists Cootes on two rosters simultaneously, the Monkeys and SAIT. I would trust the official team website here. The Evil Monkeys had recruited Joey Rocha from the Swift Current Broncos (WHL), but he went to Alaska-Anchorage (NCAA) instead.
Defencemen:
Returning:
4 Blake Gustafson D (28-2-13-15)
27 Aiden Yakimchuk D (26-0-5-5)
22 Ty Thornton D (3-0-0-0)
Arrivals:
5 Adam Lang – D – Cowichan Valley (BCHL)
6 Matteo Fabrizi – D – Lethbridge (WHL)
7 Kyle Masters – D – Iowa Wild (AHL), Iowa & Wichita (ECHL)
8 Carter Kowalyk – D – Kelowna & Seattle (WHL), Canmore (AJHL)
24 Pierce Yakimchuk – D – Flin Flon (SJHL)
Departures:
5 Dawson Davidson D (27-2-24-26)
24 Mason Ward D (14-3-6-9)
3 Joel Sexsmith D (19-0-3-3)
52 Konrad Belcourt D (26-0-3-3)
25 Jacob Dewitt D (12-0-1-1)
3 Ty Gibson D (0-0-0-0)
– Nikita Liberman D (0-0-0-0)
The loss of Davidson will be felt by the Monkeys. Otherwise, overall the recruits are an upgrade over the departures.
Forwards:
Returning:
17 Alex Thacker F (25-6-16-22)
26 Sam Popowich F (26-4-10-14)
23 Gleb Tkach F (28-5-7-12)
16 Jayden Joly F (27-5-4-9)
29 Marcus Pacheco F (24-4-5-9)
9 Dylan Ruptash F (23-5-3-8)
18 Ryan Duguay F (22-2-6-8)
19 Bruce MacGregor F (28-1-6-7)
20 Vincent Lamanna F (9-3-2-5)
14 Rhett Melnyk F (16-2-2-4)
64 Alonso Tapia Ruiz F (9-1-0-1)
Arrivals:
10 Junshi Hideshima – F – Camrose (AJHL)
11 Harper Lolacher – F – Calgary Canucks (AJHL)
13 Dylan Handel – F – Concordia of Edmonton (ACAC)
15 Ryder Matter – F – Michigan Tech (NCAA)
21 Colin Doherty – F – Grande Prairie (AJHL)
12 Aidyn Hutchinson – F – Northern Michigan (NCAA)
36 Connor Dick – F – Chilliwack & Vernon (BCHL)
37 Caelum Dick – F/D – Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA)
40 Zane Saab – F – Wenatchee Wild (WHL)
52 Dwayne Jean Jr. – F – MacEwan (CWUAA) (25-8-9-17)
Departures:
12 Adam Hall (27-15-11-26)
9 Justin Hall (22-9-17-26)
15 Tyson Laventure (23-11-11-22)
7 Owen Pederson (23-6-11-17)
8 Noah Boyko (16-7-1-8)
13 Chase Visser (1-0-0-0)
The Evil Monkeys losses up front are pretty severe. Only one of their top six scorers from 2025-26 (one of which was Dawson on D) returns. That gives the recruits a ton of responsibility to maintain the scoring potential. They have 21 forwards listed on their roster, and they break down as eight returning regulars, three returning irregulars, three NCAA transfers, one CW transfer, one ACAC transfer, one from the WHL, and four Junior A recruits.
Links here: https://forums.hfboards.com/threads/2026-27-manitoba-bisons-cw.3030122/page-4#post-207014095