Written as a news outlet asking Scarecrows GM and recently Edmonton-bound Joe Kurczewski:


First Question: What was the first indication last year that gave you that feeling that you were going to win the 4-Star Cup?

Joe: "The first indication I had last year was just how many veterans we had coming back to us. I knew the entire preseason we should’ve been considered heavy favorites. When you have players like Pedersen Jr, Taylor, Williams, Freeman, Moyer, Rytmyer, Smithers, Maple, and of course Cain coming back after making the finals and losing it, I just knew we’d have a dedicated team that would win it all."

Second Question: How was your experience at the GM/scouting table at this last SMJHL draft? How did you handle the chaos of so many prospects?

Joe: "The experience was insane. I still (somehow) was able to reach out to every single prospect. Not all of them got back to me, which was a blessing in disguise. The ones that did I had a great talk with at length about hockey, life, whatever. Those players ended up higher on my scouting board, and it afforded me the ability to take future league stars like Michael Fox and Gordie Boomhover. I took a chance on a few other soon to be superstars like Jeff Bazinet and Alekski Leskinen, and I think it’s going to pay off handsomely for us."

Third Question: Any exciting young prospects coming up from the Joe K school of hockey in the forseeable future, in addition to your SHL career and GMing career?

Joe: "I don’t have time to worry about training future prospects right now. I just got traded to Edmonton and I’m busier than ever with learning the new team and still running the Scarecrows. I also have some other things in the works too, so right now my own career is more important than training someone else for theirs. It’ll be a while before that happens."