Although the faithful in Humboldt cant cheer for their Broncos, a Humboldt native will be getting a lot of support as he heads into the SJHL finals. 

Brayden Klimosko has led his Battlefords North Stars into the Canalta Cup Finals in his first year as Head Coach with the team. 

Klimosko was once a Humboldt Bronco, dawning the green and gold from 2004-2008. Following his playing career, he returned as an assistant coach for three years from 2013-2016. He spent one year in the AJHL with the Drumheller Dragons before coming back home to the SJHL, where he secured his first head coaching job with the Battlefords North Stars. 

The North Stars went on a tear in the second half of the season, which has led to continued success in the playoffs. They eliminated the Flin Flon Bombers in seven games in round one, followed by a four-game sweep of the Yorkton Terriers to advance to the Canalta Cup Finals. 

"It was a big deal for us for sure. I don't think our first half was as strong as we were hoping. We were trying to find ourselves, trying to find our confidence, and after Christmas, we got on a roll. We really developed a simpler style of play and just worked hard, outworked our opponents, and build up our confidence. I think that's what really led us to success in the latter half, and we were able to take that into the playoffs," said Klimosko.

The success down the stretch did carry over into their current playoff run. Battlefords jumped out to a 3-0 series lead over the Flin Flon Bombers. The Bombers stormed back forcing a deciding game seven, where the North Stars eventually eliminated their foe. In the second round, the leagues highest scoring team in the Yorkton Terriers rolled through and got swept by Klimosko's crew.

"Defensively we have been strong. I can't complain about that aspect of it at all. It was a grind through the opening series, never felt like we were up 3-0. The teams went after each other for seven games. It was lots of fun and great to be a part of. We were able to take some of that momentum into the next round and Yorkton gave us one heck of a series a well."

Defensively sound is partly thanks to their goaltender Joel Grzybowski, who has a 1.40 goals against average, a sparkling .959 save percentage, and has collected 4 shutouts through the 11 playoffs games including three in a row to send Yorkton packing.  

"He has been out of his mind. First and foremost we haven't given up a lot of grade-A scoring chances, but when we do, he's there to shut the door. He's been a stud for us so far and is going to need to be moving forward."

The Canalta Cup finals will feature another high-powered offensive threat for the North Stars in the Melfort Mustangs.

"They got two of the best players in the league in Carson Albrecht and Justin Ball. They have some guys on the back end that can create some offence as well. They're gonna be a tough team to stop. We played against the third top scoring team in the league in the first round, the top scoring team in the second round, and now the second highest scoring team in the finals, so we're going to have to do our job and defend properly."

Canalta Cup finals aside, Klimosko has been soaking in his time in the Battlefords, as well as his first head coaching role.

"It's been great, both Humboldt and the Battlefords are very much hockey towns, you get support from everywhere. They love their hockey, they love their hard-working players, and are behind you 100 percent. I'm very happy to get support from both cities"

The puck will drop on the Canalta Cup Finals on April 12th, starting with games one and two in the Battlefords, as Klimosko looks to lead his North Stars to their second championship in three years, and his first as a head coach.