So sometimes it is asked “How does one follow up a Championship season?” Well if you ask that of the Saint John Kings, the response in a dominant regular season fashion. After finally breaking the curse of 5 Barbarian trophies and many more heartbreaks in the playoffs, the Kings finally sealed the deal and took home a cup. Instead of the dreaded ODBHL Cup hangover for the following season, the team's success seems to have lit a fire under the “arses” of the Kings.
The team not only won a Barbarian Trophy this season but did so by finishing 15 points ahead of the next closest Oromocto Senators who had an impressive season in their own right! The previous record for team points in a season was held by the season 11 Cains River Blues in which they amassed 95 points. Obviously there are many factors that go into a season like the one some of the upper echelon teams did in the ODBHL such as that multiple teams are simultaneously deep in rebuilds which is next to unheard of. This Saint John Kings season has not been played out in the typical style of GM John Kenny’s teams. Although there was still focus on putting pucks on the net and keeping the defensive zone as tight as they could, the team tolerated a little bit looser physical play. Brady Tkachuk and Grigori DEnisenko made their presence known in the top 6 in league penalty minutes and Saint John had a couple of players in the top 10 checkers in the league. The Saint John power play was again amidst the league leaders but with the shaky discipline it was surprising to see the Kings in the bottom half on penalty kill. Usually this lack of penalty kill would inspire GM Kenny to seek assistance for the flailing defenders, but he seemed to be the quietest we have ever seen him.
When asked about the season Kenny addressed the media “The boys have put on a helluva show this season. They came out to put on a show for the city and to put the league on notice that they are still looking to repeat. We had a couple of guys who are looking to add a little personal hardware as well, which is great for the morale of this group. I am proud of these guys and ready to push on to the playoffs!” As for the atmosphere here in the Loyalist City, we hop The Kings can keep rolling and repeat to bring home another Cup
Irwin P Freeley
Telegraph Journal
4/29/2025 - 429 words
