One of the Swan Valley Stampeders leaders this past season was Quintin Sudom. He had 71 points in 67 games total and was named the MJHL's Top Defencemen. That point total would have likely been much higher had he not missed time in the regular season.
Now, Quintin will look to be a main contributor on another team. He's set to join the University of Augustana Vikings. They play in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference. The Vikings went 17-10-1 last season before falling to SAIT in three games in the playoffs.
"Yeah, it's very exciting. I'm coming into a great program," said Sudom. "From what I'm told, they have a good group of returning guys and we should have a really good chance at winning the league."
"They're also a great academic school and it's definitely a nice little bonus to have another chance to win a title," he added.
A ton of the Stamps' offensive play revolved around Sudom this past season. He was on the first defensive pairing and he was on the first power play line. That's something he should probably get used to with the Vikings as well.
"I've been told I'm going to be playing a lot of minutes with U of A," commented Sudom. "I'll be on the power play as well. I'll be getting opportunities to help this team. It's kind of like what I was doing in the MJHL, it's just at a different level."
16 of Quintin's 71 points with Swan Valley this past season came in the playoffs. The team advanced to game seven of the MJHL final before falling to Portage. Overall, Quintin suited up in 130 games for the Stampeders during his junior career which came to an end on April 22.
"Anytime you get to play for a championship it's really exciting. Obviously, it wasn't the result we wanted, but I'm proud of all the guys and myself," added Sudom.
Sudom will now have a couple of months to prepare for his first season as a college hockey player. He knows it'll be a challenge, but he's ready for it.
"I'm hoping it'll be a pretty seamless transition. Obviously, guys are going to be bigger and stronger and that's going to take some time to get used to," commented Sudom. "Battles are going to be harder in front of the net and the hockey is going to be faster."
"I think if I train hard during the summer and work hard, I'll definitely be able to make an impact in my first season," he said.
