Drumheller, AB: The Dragons hit the road this past week for a three games in three nights stretch and came back to the valley with four out of a possible six points! To add to that, they also have a few players bringing home some hardware from the weekly AJHL Awards!
16-year old Matthew Hilderman has made quite the impression through his first 6 games at the junior level, as he now has 6 goals and 11 points which has him second on the Dragons in points and 7th in the AJHL. He also leads all AJHL rookies in both points and goals. This past weekend he kicked off the road trip with a 4 goal and 5 point night against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in a big 8-7 overtime victory. By doing this, he set a new franchise record as the youngest player to ever record three or more goals in a single game. The Cochrane native then finished off the trip with a two point night in Bonnyville for a total of 5 goals and 7 points in his last three games. This accomplishment undoubtedly landed him the AJHL Player of the Week honours! Hilderman was drafted 23rd overall in the 2024 WHL Draft by the Seattle Thunderbirds and last season put up 23 goals and 39 points in 32 games played with the Airdrie Bisons U18 AAA program. His father, Ryan, was also an assistant coach for the Dragons back in the 2010-2011 season.
Dragons forward, Tyler Deakos, also had himself another good weekend as he was named the AJHL Rookie of the Week! The Canmore product had an assist and the overtime winning goal on Thursday night against the Oil Barons before adding another goal on Friday night. He then finished off the weekend with an assist against the Pontiacs for a total of 4 points in 3 games on the northern road swing. Deakos has recorded a point in all but one game so far this season, for a total of 5 goals and 9 points in 7 games played. He has found some good chemistry alongside Bradley Gallo on the Dragons top line. The 2007 born forwards has definitely turned some heads in the early going of this season with his combination of speed, size, and skill.
You can catch the AJHL leading Dragons in action this weekend at the Memorial Arena as they take on the Camrose Kodiaks on Friday night at 7:00pm for the first BrokerLink $25,000 Shoot to Win of the season. Then on Sunday, they welcome the Drayton Valley Thunder to town for the second time this season. You can get your tickets online at tickets.drumhellerdragons.ca!
