Ellis returns as 20-year-old

As the Westside Warriors prepare for life with a new coach this fall, a veteran of all three seasons with the Warriors says he wants to make this year his best year yet.

Brendan Ellis, 20, says  the legacy of work ethic that outgoing coach Mark Howell leaves behind should bode well for the club heading into the first year with new coach Darren Yopyk.

?We have a lot of second year guys coming back that played under Mark for a year and I think they learned a lot of good things about hard work and practise habits,? said Ellis, a graduate of Kelowna Minor Hockey. ?In talking to Darren he said he wants to implement an offensive style of game. I think we have the talent to have a good team.?

As a 20-year-old Ellis will be looking to make his final junior hockey season a memorable one, both for the team and for himself.

And the only way to do that is to have success in the playoffs, something the Warriors have had a little taste of in each of its three years in the Okanagan.

Ellis will be among several returning defenseman.

?I guess you could call this season a fresh start,? he said. ?The most important thing is to have some success in the playoffs. The farther we go the better chance for everyone to get scholarships. Especially me, being 20, hopefully I can get something scholarship-wise but the only way to do that is to have success as a team.?

In Ellis? three seasons the Kelowna product has seen a little bit of everything with the Warriors from a 40 win season and conference final appearance in year two to that ill-fated debut in Westside, played out of Memorial Arena in downtown Kelowna.

?Looking back it?s tough to remember the times we had in Memorial,” he said. “It seems like so long ago. The team has grown so much. It?s exciting to see all the changes.?

Ellis is among three original Warriors players who will be playing out their final seasons. Trevor Bailey and Joel Woznikoski are also entering their fourth year with the team and should be the cornerstones of the club, along with Ellis and the other returning core.

?I think I have to be one of the leaders on the team,? said Ellis. ?With three years of experience that?s going to help me a lot.?