Garan Magnes will be continuing his hockey career in his hometown of Edmonton.
It was announced Friday that the versatile 21-year-old, who finished out his junior career with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Battlefords North Stars earlier this month, will be suiting up for the MacEwan Griffins in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference starting this fall.
“It’s pretty exciting to know what I got in store for me over the next few years,” Magnes said.
“They’ve won the league the last two years and for them to bring me in and expect me to be one of the guys that will help them continue their winning ways is pretty awesome.”
The process to join the Griffins started earlier this season when Magnes was playing in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with the Spruce Grove Saints, as he was contacted by his former head coach and current Griffins bench boss Michael Ringrose.
“We talked a bit throughout the course of the year and he actually asked me around the trade deadline if I wanted to join the team then,” Magnes said.
“I told him that I wanted to finish out my junior career in the Battlefords and he was totally fine with that. He also said how he was eager to have me join the team once the season ended and it just went from there.”
In addition to being familiar with Magnes from his time with the Saints during the 2016-17 campaign, Ringrose is also impressed by his ability to play up front as a forward and on the blueline as a defenceman.
“It’s pretty hard to find a guy that can play well at both ends of the ice and that makes Garan a pretty valuable player for us, especially if we run into injury trouble,” Ringrose said.
“He’s got a world-class shot and a release that can beat a goalie clean, and we feel like his ability to run a power play is something that will translate well to the college game.”
Magnes, who also spent two seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Seattle Thunderbirds, had 15 points in 18 regular season games with the North Stars and found the back of the net twice in eight playoff contests.
“You can definitely tell the difference between the leagues,” Magnes said. “You have to keep your feet moving all the time in the WHL with the amount of speed in the league, and the AJHL is a league where you have to battle it out with a lot of skilled guys that can put the puck in the net.
“The SJHL is a tough league and you have to be ready both physically and mentally every single night. You always have to be prepared to take a hit after you pass the puck.”
After winning the ACAC title in 2017 and seeing head coach Bram Stephen move on to take charge of the Saints, and win an AJHL crown in the process, Ringrose picked up right where the team left off this season by winning the league for a second straight campaign.
“We were a little shorthanded last year but we were able to go through the playoffs without any injuries, and that was a key to our success,” Ringrose said.
“We’ve got a number of guys returning next year and we’ve been targeting some impact players in recruiting here as we look to continuing pushing for more success.”
Camrose Kodiaks forwards Ryan Harman and Nic Correale will also be joining the Griffins next season along with Drumheller Dragons defenceman Andrew Kartusch.
In addition to preparing for starting his studies in the business program at MacEwan, Magnes is already gearing up to hit the gym as he moves up to college hockey.
“The main focus is making sure that I get faster to get ready to play the amount of minutes that Coach Ringrose wants me to next season,” Magnes said.
“I want to be able to get into the role that they expect me to right away in my freshman season.”
Magnes is the fourth player from this year’s North Stars roster to commit to a post-secondary program.
Layne Young is slated to suit up for the Saskatchewan Huskies in U Sports next fall, while are Levi Kleiboer and MacGregor Sinclair are both gearing up to play for the NCAA’s Maine Black Bears and Canisius Golden Griffins.
Kleiboer and Sinclair are both eligible to return to the North Stars next fall.
