Game On Magazine - April 2017 GameOn-Apr2017-P001-144-ONLINE | Page 119

Born and raised in Cross Lake, he had a comfortable year in the North, playing
with his brother Anthony, in a spot where his parents could get to his games. He
had 23 goals and 48 points in 48 games and dominated the league. He will have a
big impact at Maine next season.
LAWSON McDONALD, Winkler, Nebraska-Omaha:
Winkler Flyers head coach Ken Pearson calls 19-year-old McDonald, “Our team
MVP.”
A first-team MJHL all-star this season, McDonald is from a hockey family. His
dad, Paul McDonald is the nephew of former NHL goaltender Rick St. Croix. Born
in Winkler, he has played four seasons with the Flyers and this past year had eight
goals and 49 points in all 60 games.
He’s tough, durable, strong and smart and while there is a slight chance, he could
return to the Flyers next season, Pearson isn’t counting on it.
“He does everything for us,” said Pearson. “He logs a lot of ice time, anchors
the power play and actually plays on all special teams. He’s our workhorse and
our MVP.”
LAWSON MCDONALD,
WINKLER FLYERS
REID STEFANSON, Winnipeg, UMass-Lowell:
A defenseman, Stefanson played the 2011-12 season with the Winnipeg Monarchs
bantams, played the next year with the Winnipeg Wild of the Provincial Triple A
Midget League and then spent two years with the Winnipeg Blues before heading
off to play for Coach Marty Murray and the Minot Minotauros of the North Ameri-
can League this past season.
Stefanson had 18 goals and 40 points in 46 games in Minot this year and earned
a scholarship to UMass-Lowell. However, he spoke to five schools before choosing
Lowell.
“I felt like it was a better fit for me,” he said. “It’s a little bigger school than the
other schools I looked at and they have a good track record for winning over the
last few years. I really like the coaching staff. Their head coach (Norm Bazin) is a
Manitoba guy and their assistant coach (Andy Jones) has been really supportive
through the entire process.”
DYLAN THIESSEN, Winnipeg, Mercyhurst:
Thiessen is in his third season with the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals. He’s a 6-foot,
185-pound centre/leftwinger who had nine goals and 25 points in 41 games with
Coach Troy Leslie’s Oil Caps this past year. He decided to accept a scholarship to
Mercyhurst after his sister, K.K., a star with Winnipeg’s St. Mary’s Academy, de-
cided to go to the Division 1 school in Erie, Pa.
“When I was drafted by Brandon (Wheat Kings out of the Triple A Monarchs Ban-
tams), I was more focused on the WHL,” Dylan said. “But my dad made sure I kept
both options open. I went to Brandon’s spring camp, but I didn’t want to close out
any options and made sure that school was still something I could do. Then, when
I went down and visited Mercyhurst and checked it out, I weighed both situations
and thought that Mercyhurst would be a better move for my hockey career and
schooling, as well.
“With my sister going, it will also be better for my family. We’re so close in age,
we’ve overlapped on teams for so many years, it’s amazing that we’ll get to go to
the same school together.”
REID STEFANSON,
MINOT MINOTAUROS
DYLAN THIESSEN,
VIRDEN OIL KINGS
2017 PLAYOFF EDITION
GAME ON 119