Though the official announcement of the end of the SJHL season was a bitter pill to swallow for all players, it was especially difficult for the players born in 2000. It meant their junior hockey careers were officially at an end. 

For the Estevan Bruins, this means the end of the careers of six players, some of whom had been with the team for a very long time. Defensemen Austin King-Cunningham, Devan Harrison, and Kade McMillen, along with forwards Tanner Mortenson, Ryder Pierson, and Eddie Gallagher, are now done with junior hockey. 

Mortenson, the newest of the group, played just four games for the Bruins in the regular season, but left little doubt about what kind of player he was. Sticking up for his teammates and playing honest hockey, he also scored his first goal as a Bruin in what turned out to be his final game. 

"I've known Tanner for a long time and his family, I played with his dad," said Bruins head coach and GM Jason Tatarnic. "You know what you're going to get with Tanner. He's going to be a player that's going to go up and down the wing, be physical, and stand up for his teammates, and just be a really good guy in the dressing room. He was really well-liked."

Estevan native Pierson spent a little bit longer with the organization than that, having played 81 games for them over four years. He posted 19 points in those games, which included two games as an AP back in the 2017-18 season. 

"I think he was a pretty underrated player," Tatarnic said. "Very smart, understands the game very well, and I feel bad for him because I think he would've had a great season and been able to play in different situations than he did in previous years."

Rounding out the forwards was Eddie Gallagher, who took off offensively in the second half of the 2019-20 season and never looked back. He posted nine points in six games in the shortened 2020-21 campaign and ended up with 77 points in 105 career games for the Bruins, while also being one of their best shootout weapons. 

"He was a guy that loved playing games and loved competing," said Tatarnic. "When you put up points, it's nice to have that player that's going to compete and block shots and kill penalties and do the little things to win hockey games. He's a guy that was one of our leaders offensively and he's a guy we're going to have to replace."

The experience on the back end really shone through in the early games this season, as they had three twenty-year-olds on defense. McMillen was one of them, a fixture on the Bruins power play in both his 19 and 20-year-old seasons who added a physical edge to his game for the shortened final campaign and served as a calming influence for the Bruins younger players. As one of the Bruins' longest-serving players, he posted 56 points in 113 games. 

"He's a very intelligent player," said Tatarnic. "He moves the puck very well, he can get pucks on net from the point and defends well. I thought he was going to have an excellent year for us, he was just getting better and better. He was a pretty important piece."

No Bruins defender had more experience than Devan Harrison. Not only did he play 88 games for the Bruins, posting an impressive 59 points, he also played 62 games in the WHL. Harrison was the reigning Viterra Division defenseman of the year and was a favorite to contend for the league-wide award again. 

"I think he's a very good all-around defenseman and I think he's underrated with how good he is defensively," said Tatarnic. "He's quiet, he's not a big physical guy back there but he's got a really good stick, he positions himself well, and just (has) a really good understanding of the game. He was very important for us on both sides, offensively and defensively, and a really good leader too."

As leaders went, however, it didn't take Tatarnic long to realize who one of the biggest leaders on the team was and pin the captain's C on him. Austin King-Cunningham, a four-year Bruin with 119 games for the team under his belt, had always had a physical streak but began to show his offense this season as well with four points in four games. 

"In the dressing room, when he spoke, everyone listened," Tatarnic said. "He had the respect of everyone that way. Sometimes the way he played kind of dictated the way we played at points. It was important this year for him to realize he has skill... he has a heavy shot and he can score from the point and he can provide offense and he can do those things while at the same time being a physical player."

Tatarnic added all three defensemen would have options, as would Gallagher, as far as post-secondary education and hockey went.