Canes 16-year-olds handling adjustment to WHL

By Lethbridge Herald on December 10, 2025.

Nathan Reiter

Lethbridge Herald- Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

It’s no walk in the park to make the adjustment to the WHL, but the four 16-year-old players on the Lethbridge Hurricanes are doing all the right things so far this season.

Forwards Tyden Lafournaise, Jake Evans and Enzo DiDomenicantonio all broke camp with Lethbridge to start the season, joined by netminder Leif Oaten.

Hurricane assistant coach Ryan Aasman says they are all doing the right things regardless if they are in the lineup any given night.

“All different routes. Enzo and Laf have found moments where they played a little bit of PP time, but are mostly just trying to scrape to stay in the lineup, same thing with Jake (Evans). They know they’re not going to play every night. When they’re in, they’re trying to give you something. When they’re not in, they’re trying to get better on the ice or in the gym. From our standpoint, all three of those players have been really great to work with, really excited about where they can progress to over the next few years.”

Lethbridge took an unusual approach with netminder Leif Oaten, who made the team as a 16-year-old out of camp, winning the backup job over Brody Rotar. A majority of goaltenders in the WHL don’t make the league on a full-time basis until their 17-year-old campaign. The last Hurricane netminder to play full-time at 16 was Stuart Skinner, who is currently in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers.

Oaten was selected for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge last month where he helped Canada Red capture a gold medal in Truro, N.S.

Aasman says Oaten will look to build upon his strong play from the tournament with the Hurricanes.

“I thought he came in with a really good start and got himself into that opportunity to be a starter for Hockey Canada and won a gold medal. I think it was really hard for him to have to win that gold medal and then join us right to start the BC trip and find ways to have some starts. We found a way to get him some extra days off. I’m really excited to see how Leif makes the most of his next few starts, obviously a super promising prospect with the way he looks in the net and also being a late birthday. He has elite skill, I’ve really liked how he’s progressed in terms of just being a more competitive goalie.”

Of the three 16-year-old forwards, Lafournaise is the only one to have scored a goal for Lethbridge this season. In 22 games, the Winnipeg, MB product has scored three goals and added two assists.

Lethbridge selected Lafournaise 13th overall in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft. Lafournaise suited up last season for the Southern Alberta Hockey Academy (SAHA) U18 prep program where he recorded nine goals and added 22 assists in 33 games played.

In an interview with the Herald, Lafournaise says he has had to learn quickly to handle the grind of the WHL schedule.

“You go from 32 games to 68. It’s more than double. You’re on the road a lot, getting used to the buses. Just having three games in a week has been huge. You’re playing against guys that are 20 years old. As a 16-year-old, it’s a big adjustment. So I think just the size and the speed has also been a big factor.”

While the Hurricanes have several WHL veterans on the roster, the 16-year-old players aren’t the only ones making their first dive into the league.

19-year-olds Nathan Maloney and Kade Duell spent last year in the Junior A ranks. Both are making the adjustment to becoming impact players at the WHL level for Lethbridge. Lafournaise says having other players adjust to the league alongside him has been beneficial.

“Everyone sort of gets along a little better. You’ve kind of got similarities to some of the older guys that are coming into the league. They talk about some of their past junior experiences in junior A or whatever. You get to hear it all, so it’s been great. Just keep looking forward to building throughout the year.”

The leading scorer amongst 16-year-old Hurricane forwards this season has been Enzo DiDominicantonio. While the Los Angeles product doesn’t have a goal, he has six assists in 22 games and didn’t celebrate his 16th birthday until Halloween.

DiDomenicantonio was a first round U.S. Priority Draft selection by Lethbridge in 2024, taken 13th overall. Last season for Honeybaked 15U AAA, DiDomenicantonio recorded a whopping 117 points (57g, 60a) to pace his team.

He says the adjustment to the WHL has had its ups and downs, but it’s made him a better hockey player.

“Definitely speed and size, and the game’s so much faster than it is playing AAA or youth hockey. It’s just way more of a challenge to keep up with. It helps me improve every day when I’m practicing with bigger, older, faster guys that are compared to when you’re on a AAA team. Everybody’s the same age, and here they’re all bigger and faster, so you really got to push yourself more to get better.”