Crimson Bears out of hibernation and on the ice
- Klas Stolpe
- Oct 31, 2025
- 9 min read
JDHS hockey graduated 10, but returners have earned varsity letters
By Klas Stolpe
It is one of the most distinct sounds in sports: the “ksssh-ksssh-ksssh” of sharpened steel moving across frozen liquid.
A skate edge powerfully slicing ice, a distinctively gritty and hissing scrape that leads to a textured crunch as sudden power is applied and grip found. The ripping rasp as aggression presses on the blade edge, leading to a moment when hard rubber in forward momentum reacts in sudden velocity propelled by a solidifying stroke of graphite, fiberglass and kevlar. Then, if lucky, one gets to see a red and black jersey appearing in crystals of shredded ice.
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé hockey team had their first practice of the season two weeks ago, and Friday they showcased the talent fans can expect to see on the Crimson Bears’ home sheet. Tipping off at 6 a.m., on Halloween no less, JDHS sent chills through the Treadwell Ice Arena as they faced off in an inter-squad scrimmage.
“We graduated a lot of kids last year, including our top three scorers in program history, so this year we are kind of just looking at who is next,” JDHS head coach Matthew Boline said. “Who is going to step in to fill in those roles, and there were some players that I felt did that today in different ways — that added different dynamics. No matter what happens, we are never going to be the same team as we were the year before in any given year, but I liked what I saw. I saw some players step into some new roles, like Emerson Newell, he scored two goals, and he is a player that has been playing defense up until this year, basically. We said, ‘Hey, we could really use your speed at forward, what do you think about making a change?’ And he liked it. A good example today of someone that stepped into a new role and found success.”
Aiding the success includes leadership, and senior defender Elliot Welch was selected team captain.
“From last season I learned just the fact that we have to work harder to compete because every team is getting better as we speak,” Welch said. “We, our returners, have really improved since last year. It has been good. We are still getting everyone to talk, communicate more and catch passes, but we have a pretty strong line this year in my eyes. We just have to make it work.”
Welch is not fixated on any opponent in particular.
“I don’t keep track of that stuff,” he said. “When I go to play, we have always figured it out on the way.”
Alternate captains are seniors Isaac Phelps and Nolan Cruz, who was presented with the Matthew Campbell #LiveLikeMatthewC Award last season. The award celebrates a player who shows kindness and inclusiveness and is a hard-working team player, good student, volunteer and friend.
"We kind of have a leadership circle that encompasses more than just the captains,” Boline said. “Because we want everyone on the team to essentially be a leader in some respects. You don't have to wear a letter on your jersey to have those leadership responsibilities and leadership skills…Paxton (Mertl) and Elias (Schane). I definitely expect to take up the mantle in the leadership realm and a few others, like Drew (Cadigan-McAdoo), Tristan Headings and Kaden Morris.”
The Crimson Bears graduated 10 players from their third-place 2025 ASAA Division II state tournament team. All had significant ice time, and three — Luke Bovitz, Dylan Sowa and Emilio Holbrook — are all-time scoring leaders for JDHS. Joining them were star goalie Caleb Friend and quality skaters Carter Miller, Zander Smith, Ike Puustinen, Matt Plang, Loren Platt and Angel Aranda-Jackson.
“We learned a lot about playing as a team last year,” said Schane, a senior defender. “I saw that from some of the stronger players, just sticking in the game even if we were down, sticking with it and figuring out how to score goals from behind. I hope our team works really hard on the ice. We lost a lot of talent graduating last year so hopefully this year we can work as hard for our goals. Those 10 were some of the strongest players we have had, like, Luke Bovitz had the program all-time scoring record, and Dylan and Emilio were major role scorers…I don’t know if we will get back to that this year, but we are working back towards it, building up skill in the younger players and working hard.”
JDHS returns 27 of 29 players, plus 10 new freshmen who are ready to get ice time thanks to the Crimson Bears’ strong feeder program through the Juneau Douglas Ice Association.
Sophomore forwards Ryker Nelson and Summit Bos made significant contributions last season and, according to Boline, some freshmen "will be ones to look at…Manu Adams and Paxton Willoughby have kind of risen to the top group, so I think they will have an opportunity to play some varsity events this year. It will be up to them to see how much.”
Other key returners with significant playing time include juniors Ole Gifford and Bryden Roberts, and seniors Paxton Mertl, Isaac Phelps, Hunter Lingle and Nolan Cruz. Junior wrestler Jed Davis also returns to the hockey rink this season.
Mertl, a forward, said, "The team has been fun to play with. They are all nice and we are collaborating well. I am just excited. We graduated a lot of skill, so I think we just need to focus more on teamwork instead of individual skill. That is probably our biggest factor right now. I think fans will see a good atmosphere, good passing and a lot of teamwork. I think it will be fun.”
Boline noted the graduation of four-year varsity goalie Friend.
“So we have some new goalies this year,” he said. “Taylor Petrie was backing him up last year, so she is kind of in the top goalie role right now, and freshman Murphy Sheehan, he was on the other end today. I thought they both did great…I like seeing younger players step up and players finding their new roles on the team.”
Davis, who grew up playing hockey but focused on wrestling in high school also returns to aid in the pipes.
The Crimson Bears have a clear team-first mentality, additional support by the JDHS Blue Line Club and the largely successful coaching viewpoint of not establishing a varsity/junior varsity disconnect.
“For our program that distinction happens at the end of the season when varsity letters are awarded,” Boline said. “We want to give our players the opportunity to earn their stripes throughout the year.”
That means players are accountable and everything hockey related is earned, nothing given.
“The way we kind of look at it like those first three days of practice are considered our tryout, but we also are essentially trying out every day,” Boline said. “All the kids have a goal to make that 20-person roster for varsity games, right? There's going to be a good chunk of them, maybe 15 or so, that are going to be consistent there, like every single varsity game, and they know that. But the next one's up, they're going to be working to fill those slots. Our practice groups have been kind of changing throughout the year already, every single day, just trying to get different looks for different kids and in a situation where they're competing against kids that are more experienced than them. Where they have to work quite a bit harder and see if they can rise above it and be that top player in that group. I think everyone's been working hard this year and making good choices and I am liking where the work ethic is at.”
Boline said fans can expect to see a hard-working team.
“We will be very stingy in the defensive zone and we're going to be hard-working in the offensive zone,” he said. “I expect a battle every game and we have some pretty tough conference opponents.”
JDHS will open their Division II hockey season against Northern Lights Conference member Palmer Nov. 21-22, Friday (varsity 7:30 p.m. / JV at 5:30) and Saturday (V 3:30 p.m. / JV 1:30 p.m.). The Moose are the defending state champions.
“That’s not really the ideal way I'd like to start the season with the toughest opponent first, but that's the way it worked out this year,” Boline said. “That will really push our pace and our tempo quite a bit. My expectation is that we will be very stingy and try to keep their shots limited and keep them out of our zone as much as we can...So there's three zones on the ice. You have the defensive zone, the neutral zone and the offensive zone. We also refer to them as the work zone, the speed zone and the fun zone. So in the defensive zone we're working hard, in the neutral zone we are trying to get through with speed, and in the offensive zone we kind of take the shackles off and we let the kids just play hockey. We do have some semblance of a plan for sure, but for the most part we want them to be creative and find a way to score goals.”
The 2025-26 JDHS roster includes (Name, Number, Position):
Seniors - Paxton Mertl, 7, F; Isabelle Martin, 10, F; Emerson Newell, 12, F; Jack Barrett, 17, D; Elias Schane, 18, D; Zach Prather, 19, F; John Melancon, 21, F; Nolan Cruz, 23, F; Isaac Phelps, 24, D; Elliot Welch, 36, D; Hunter Lingle, 38, F.
Juniors - Jed Davis, 1, G; Stahly Sheehan, 5, D; Caden Morris, 11, F; Brandon Cruz, 13, F; Drew Cadigan-McAdoo, 15, F; Ole Gifford, 22, F; Taylor Petrie, 30, G; Tricen Headings, 34, F; Bryden Roberts, 49, D; Johnny Aranda-Jackson, 55, F.
Sophomores - Dylan Miller, 6, D; Austin Roberts, 9, D; Summit Bos, 14, F; Sidney Boline, 26, F; Ryker Nelson, 39, F; Braxton Jenkins, 41, F; Zachary Lagerquist, 46, F.
Freshmen - Joshua Monahan, 2, F; Manu Adams, 4, D; Victoria Petrie, 8, F; Paxton Willoughby, 16, F; Mason Catrett, 27, D; Murphy Sheehan, 29, G; Brook Taintor, 40, F; Santiago Hoff, 43, F; Adeline Janson, 47, F; Winter Osterhout, 48, F.
The JDHS coaching staff includes assistant varsity coaches Dave Kovach and Mike Bovitz, head JV coach Luke Adams and assistant JV coach Jason Kohlhase.
Joining JDHS and Palmer in the NLC are Homer, Kenai, Kodiak and Soldotna. The DII Aurora Conference features Delta Junction, Houston, Monroe, North Pole and Tri-Valley.
The top three teams from each conference, along with two from the remaining non-qualifying teams, will advance to the DII First National Cup/State Hockey Championships, Feb. 5-7 at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex.
DI teams play their state championship Feb. 12-14 at Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena. Four teams are selected from Cook Inlet Conference members Bartlett, Bettye Davis East, Chugiak, Dimond, Eagle River, Service, South Anchorage and West Anchorage; and two teams are selected from Railbelt Conference members Colony, Lathrop, Wasilla and West Valley. Two at-large teams are added from non-qualifying teams.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
