The Odessa Jackalopes have returned to the ice as the 2024-25 season gets under way next week.
The team recently finished up training camp as the Jackalopes look to improve on last year’s seventh-place showing in the North American Hockey League South Division standings and get into the Robertson Cup playoffs.
“We’re super excited,” head coach Scott Deur said who enters his fourth season with the club. “We have quite a few returning players and we have some new guys as well. We’re in the final days of training camp. We’ve gotten to know the guys pretty well over the last two weeks. We’re going to have to make some cuts (Friday) night and then we get into next week where we open up the season.”
The Jackalopes will get a tough challenge right off the bat as they face the defending Robertson Cup champion Lone Star at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13 and 14 at the NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills.
Odessa will remain on the road when the team faces the Oklahoma Warriors on Sept. 20 and 21 at the Blazers Ice Centre before heading off to Minnesota for this year’s NAHL Showcase.
The Jackalopes’ home opener will be on Oct. 11 against Oklahoma at Ector County Coliseum.
It’ll be the first of six consecutive home games the team will have in the month of October.
Speaking of being at home, the Jackalopes enter this season with a new training facility in Odessa.
Previously, the team, had to occasionally practice at other teams’ facilities outside of Odessa when other events were going on at Ector County Coliseum during the season.
The team will also continue to practice at Ector County Coliseum when it is available.
“Having this practice facility is great,” Deur said. “It’s just 10 to 12 minutes down the road for us. But having the guys being able to sleep in their beds every night is the big thing and not have to spend 110 days on the road. We’ll get actual normal practices in. That’s the upside to all of that. Being able to sleep in our own beds is nice too.”
As for this year’s team, Odessa has talent coming back on its attack.
“We have quite a few forwards coming back with us,” Deur said. “I think that’s going to be an upside. I think we have a good group of players that can play at this level. I think this should be a fun group to watch.”
Among the players coming back is Zach Benayon.
“We’re really excited,” Benayon said. “We have a lot of guys returning and some new guys that are doing well. We’re excited to see what this season holds for us.”
Deur also says this team is bigger than in previous seasons.
“We’re bigger, height-wise and I think we’re faster than what we’ve been in the past,” Deur said. “This group is really coming together. They hang out together. They’re in the locker room, hanging out. We have a tight knit group here and that’s something every coach wants to see.”
Defending is an area that Deur said the team still needs to work on.
“Our defensive zone is something that we always need to worry about, especially playing in the south division and the style that we play,” Deur said. “If we can clean up our defensive zone, I think we’ll be fine. We also need to capitalize on our power plays as well.”
Speaking of the Jackalopes’ division, the south division has proven time and time again to be the most brutal of the NAHL.
Five of the last seven Robertson Cup winners have come from the south division including three in the last four years.
Shreveport won the title in 2021 while Oklahoma added a championship in 2023 and Lone Star took the bragging rights this past spring.
“I’m going into my fourth season and I think it’s been three championships that have come from the south division,” Deur said. “When I say it’s the hardest division, I truly believe that. We get a taste of it from the start with the reigning champions Lone Star. It’s a tough division, but there’s no other place that you want to play in. If it wasn’t tough, it wouldn’t be fun.”
The Jackalopes will begin the Showcase on Sept. 26 against Johnstown before facing the Northeast Generals on Sept. 27.
The team will wrap up its showcase against Wisconsin on Sept. 28.
“Going into the showcase is a great thing,” Deur said. “You get to see all the college guys that you didn’t get to see over the summer. You get to see coaches that you haven’t gotten to see from other divisions and get a chance to connect with them. It’s a great thing. It’s a hectic four-day period for us, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s special to go up to Minnesota.”
