Copperheads hope for brighter days ahead as HJHL team prepares for next season

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Sunny South News

By Garrett Simmons
Sunny South News

The 2024/2025 season might not have gone exactly how the Coaldale Copperheads hoped but in the end, the team did make another appearance in the Heritage Junior Hockey League playoffs.

As the dust settled on the regular season, Coaldale finished fifth in the South Division with a 14-21-3 record. The 31 points earned by the Copperheads put the local squad behind south-leading Okotoks (65), Wheatland (55), Medicine Hat (54) and Cochrane (41).

Coaldale then dropped a first-round playoff series to Cochrane, two games to one, which ended the HJHL campaign for the Copperheads.

And while the playoff defeat did sting for the Snakes, it did not erase a regular season that featured a number of standout performances.

Nathan Verloop led the way in that regard, as the forward racked up 58 points on 22 goals and 36 games, as he led the team in scoring. Caden Heins paced the team with 27 goals, as he added 24 helpers to finish second on the team with 51 points.

Griffin McCulloch ended 2024/2025 with 38 points, while John Vanden Elzen and Brandon Creighton collected 24 points each. Kobe Fujita was next on the team with 16 points while three players, Koden Lazar, Ryan Holm and Brett Hudey ended the year with 12 points each.

Brylin Noble appeared in 27 games between the pipes and had a 3.69 goals against and a .890 save percentage. Joseph Rolfson played in 13 contests and had a 4.44 GAA and ended the year with a save percentage of .860.

In the playoffs, Heins and Bill Houenagnon each had three points, while Verloop, Eric Price and Riley Preachuk all had two points each.

The team’s fifth-place finish was a bit of a step back compared to the previous season, as the Copperheads finished third in the South Division last season.

Now, the team can look ahead to 2025/2026, while this season’s HJHL playoffs continue.

This weekend, the South Division final will kick off, as Medicine Hat and Okotoks will battle it out. In the North Division, Red Deer and Sylvan Lake will compete for a spot in the final.

Both of those best-of-five series will begin on Friday.