NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas — Building on last season’s success, Dan Wildfong has spent a good part of the off-season re-tooling his offense; some would say, in his own image.
A former three-time CHL All-star forward, Wildfong, in his rookie year as a head coach, took a group who had never played together as a team to the Northern Conference Finals only to suffer a heartbreaking loss in the final minute of a forced game seven against the defending champion Colorado Eagles.
After their playoff run ended in April, three of the team’s most prolific scorers signed with teams in Europe. Jordan Cameron signed with the Hannover Indians in Germany, Anders Strome signed with the Odense Bulldogs in Denmark and Grant Jacobsen signed with the Manchester Phoenix in England.
“It definitely hurt,” Wildfong said. “But at the end of the day, everyone can be replaced.”
So he got to work on doing just that. The first addition to the 2008-09 roster was Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) star Lance Galbraith , a member of the Steelheads’ 2004 and 2007 Kelly Cup Championship teams. Last season, he put up 67 points (22 G, 45 A) in 66 games.
“He’s gritty, hardnosed and has the will to win and he has won before so he knows what it takes,” Wildfong said. “I think he’s going to bring that winning attitude, that desire to compete every shift, every night.”
Galbraith has already lived up to expectations, scoring the first pre-season goal for the Brahmas in their 3-2 overtime victory over the Odessa Jackalopes.
A couple of other key additions are centers Jason Deitsch and Aaron Davis.
Deitsch joins the Brahmas after splitting time last season between Germany and the 2008 Kelly Cup Champion Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL). Deitsch put up 64 points (27 G, 37 A) in 69 games last season. He has averaged over 74 points in his first three full seasons as a pro. 
Davis played for the Brahmas previously during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons, Davis returns to the team after playing for the Mississippi RiverKings last season where he scored 45 points (21 G, 24 A).
The Brahmas re-signed three of last season’s rookie standouts in forwards Tyler Skworchinski, Greg McConnell and Mark Carragher. Last season, Skworchinski scored 47 points (24 G, 23 A) and was named to the CHL All-Rookie team. McConnell and Carragher scored 20 and 19 points, respectively. Both are expected to have break out seasons this year.
Joining the Brahmas for his first professional season is Michigan Tech forward Pete Rouleau who skated in 95 games and scored 61 points (19 G, 42 A) over three seasons with the Huskies. He earned the Gary Crosby Award as the team’s leading scorer his junior and senior year and won the Huskies’ MVP award last season.
In September, center Grant Jacobsen accepted an offer to re-sign with the Brahmas, further boosting their firepower. Jacobsen scored 53 points (15 G, 38 A) last season. Right wing Scott Sheppard has also recently reported back for duty. He tallied 54 points (28 G, 26 A) last season.
With the goal of a championship in his team’s sights, Wildfong and the Brahmas are ready to open their season on the road October 17th against their long-time rival, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.
(See sister article on the offense/goaltending by Brian McLean).
Contact the author at: robert.keith@prohockeynews.com
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