After years of planning, Lundar School accomplished its goal of icing a high school hockey team this past season.
The Lundar Kodiaks went 2-20-1-1 in their inaugural season in the WHSHL’s Price Division. Highlights included a third-place finish at the Barons Fall Classic and the franchise’s first playoff win against Murdoch MacKay. Pictured, back row (left to right): Thor Johnson, Noah Kuzyk, Aaden Monkman, Joey Bird-Young; middle row: Thorley Gudmundson, Daniel Johnson, Konnor Law, Blaine Christensen, Austin Hickman, Conway Anderson, Axel Malcolm, Erik Lloyd; front row: Erik Johnson, Tyler Medeiros (head coach and GM), Kolten Bell-Sinclair, Sigge Bjornson, Riley Johnson, Carter Reykdal, Eric Eronen (assistant coach), Mason Bauch. Missing: Jayson Christensen (assistant coach), Brad Drews (assistant general manager), Diana Drews (equipment manager) and Emmett Miller
Though the Kodiaks faced the common challenge of winning games as a new team, they were able to take away many positives.
“There’s definitely a good foundation that we put down this year to build on moving forward, and I know our players are excited for the opportunity to play again next year,” said head coach Tyler Medeiros on Thursday.
Medeiros, Eric Eronen and Jayson Christensen made up the club’s coaching staff, while Brad and Diana Drews took on management duties.
The team was created to accommodate students who wanted to represent their school, much like friends and former teammates at nearby programs such as Collège Stonewall Collegiate and Warren Collegiate Institute.
Following discussions between the Winnipeg High School Hockey League and principals and staff from local schools, Lundar received approval to form a co-op team with students from Ashern Central School and St. Laurent School.
The team of Grade 9 to 12 players opened the season with a third-place finish at the Barons Fall Classic tournament before posting a 2-20-0-1-1 record in the regular season, finishing 12th in the WHSHL’s Price Division.
They then pushed their first-round playoff series against fifth-ranked Murdoch MacKay to a winner-take-all Game 3 after earning the program’s first playoff victory in Game 1 of the best-of-three series.
Though Murdoch ultimately ended Lundar’s season with wins in games 2 and 3, the experience is something the team will carry forward, with only a handful of players graduating.
“Despite having a challenging season in our first year, it was something that our players really enjoyed,” said Medeiros. “I believe we had a lot of interest around the community. It was, I would say, a learning year for us.”
Another highlight saw the team’s top three scorers earn WHSHL Price Division all-star selections.
Kolten Bell-Sinclair, Noah Kuzyk and Carter Reykdal combined for 34 of the club’s 49 goals in the regular season.
The team’s offence was on display in front of one of its largest crowds of the season during a “school game” against local rivals Warren on Dec. 11 at Lundar Arena, which ended in a 7-6 victory for the Wildcats.
“We were really happy with the calibre of play in the league,” said Medeiros. “We thought it was really good, clean hockey. It pushed you to improve and continue to get better and develop, and we enjoyed it. There were definitely some tough days — the competition was really good — but I think every one of those other teams had players who had played in the league before, whereas we were an entire team of first-time high school hockey players. Having that experience will be an asset moving forward.”
Medeiros and staff now look ahead to September as the 2026–27 season approaches.
Their development pipeline is also strengthening through the division’s hockey academy, which is expanding to include grades 5 to 8 students from Lundar, Eriksdale and the surrounding area after hosting 20 students in grades 5 to 7 this year.
As one of the academy’s teachers, Medeiros is focused on reinforcing the balance between academics and athletics, noting the WHSHL offers scholarship opportunities to its players.
“For the high school program, we want to continue to improve as a team and build on the vision of providing an opportunity for student-athletes, while not forgetting the student component,” he said. “It’s a school-based team, so I’m trying to make sure players understand that both parts of being a student-athlete are important aspects of this program.”
