Brooks Bandits are once again the class of the Alberta Junior Hockey League
The Brooks Bandits are having another fantastic season, running away from the competition in the South Division and their record of 40-2-1 tops the entire league.
Zach Bookman, 19-year-old defenceman, is also having an outstanding season with the team.
In 43 games, he scored 18 goals and added 65 assists for 83 points. That’s a franchise record for most goals in a season by a defenceman, surpassing the likes of Cale Makar.
And what's even more impressive, Bookman still has 17 games left in the regular season to add to his total.
Bookman says it's special because he looks up to the Colorado Avalanche defenceman.
"I mean it was surreal just to be mentioned with Cale," he said.
"Obviously he's the best defenceman in the NHL I think and just for me to be able to pass him with the organization it means everything to me."
IMPRESSING THE COACH
Bookman was born in Syracuse, New York, and next year he's committed to playing at Merrimack College near Boston, Massachusetts.
Technically, Bookman is still a rookie in the AJHL because he only played seven games last year due to a COVID-shortened schedule.
Head coach Ryan Papaioannou says that's what makes Bookman's season even more remarkable.
"His ability offensively right now in the league is second to none," Papaioannou said.
"He's starting to do the things that remind you of Cale along the blueline and he's a guy that loves to watch hockey and I think he sees things that Cale does and tries to replicate when he can."
GETTING CLOSE TO 50
Another player who has been lighting it up for the Bandits is forward T.J. Hughes.
The 20-year-old has scored 45 goals in 43 games and will no doubt become the first Bandits player to reach the 50-goal plateau in a season.
Hughes says that would be a great accomplishment.
"Yeah it would mean so much obviously. It would be a great accomplishment but I'm not looking too much at it," Hughes said.
"I just care more about the winning as a team and stuff and other peoples success as well but it would mean a lot."
GETTING GRITTY
This season has been a breakthrough for Hughes. In his previous 65 games with the Bandits, he had scored just 17 goals.
Papaioannou says Hughes always had the skill to score goals but this season he's worked hard to get more gritty and go to the scoring areas.
"He's been phenomenal," the Bandits’ bench boss said.
"The rate that he's scored at is something we couldn't have predicted. I knew he'd have a fantastic season but seemingly you know everything he touches finds a way to hit the back of the net."
Hughes will also head to school next season, playing at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Bookman and Hughes will look to add to their totals on Friday night when the Bandits travel to Drumheller to take on the Dragons.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.