Three Yukoners are hoping a season of hockey playing for the Fort St. John Flyers AAA midget team will help elevate their game to the next level.

Former Mustangs Burt and David Stephens joined second-year Flyer Owen McKinnon this season on what is a more offensively explosive 2008-09 team.

"It's great, I knew them before I came down here," said 17-year-old McKinnon about Burt and David playing their first season for the team. "It's fun hanging out with them off ice and nice to play with them on ice. They both add to the team."

This year's team got off to a slow start, dropping three games before registering the first win. From there the Flyers have been somewhat inconsistent, winning three games and losing two for a record of 3-5.

The Flyers are currently sitting in the middle of the nine-team league standings and hope to rebound for the three games it will play this weekend. The Fort St. John squad competes against midget AAA teams from both Alberta and B.C.

Last year's squad went on an incredible 15-game winning streak that began in October, but struggled to find consistency for the remainder of the season.

The Flyers have had to deal with some early adversity so far this season after McKinnon suffered a chest injury in an exhibition game around the middle of September.

The injury occurred after McKinnon was hit in the sternum when he was coming into the offensive zone, resulting in him missing two exhibition games. Despite playing in all of the regular season contests, he still hasn't fully recovered from the hit. McKinnon said his condition is improving and he hopes to step up his game for the remainder of the season.

Last year, the left-winger got off to a blazing start, recording nearly 10 points in his first five games. So far this season McKinnon has one goal and five assists.

McKinnon said the Flyers have the potential to be even better than last year's team, adding that both Burt and David have contributed a lot to the squad.

"Burt is our biggest guy, so he brings a lot of hitting and he is a good defensive player and David is really offensive," He said. "(David's) got the dangles and a lot of speed. He's one of the fastest guys on the team. He should be able to put up some points this year. They are both doing good, they have had no problems really, get along with the guys on the ice, both of them do what they need to do."

This is McKinnon's last year of eligibility for midget hockey and the talented forward hopes to make the jump to junior A for the next season. He said he is not worried about it at the moment and is just focussing on the season at hand.

Burt, 17, said the season is going well so far in Fort St. John.

"It's going alright, our team is starting to come along," he said. "We are starting to bond and starting to play like a team instead of individual players. I think we are going to be really good towards the end of the year."

Burt, who is a defenceman, played for the Whitehorse Midget Mustangs in 2007-08. So far this year he has scored one goal and added one assist.

This is 15-year-old David's first year playing midget hockey. Last season he played on the Whitehorse Bantam Mustangs, but the higher level of competition attracted the gifted centre to the Flyers team.

He said the season is going well and that it has been helpful having McKinnon and Burt on the team.

"It's a big help because at the start I didn't know anyone and Owen really helped me," David said. "He is a good leader on the ice because he has been here for a couple years now."

David, who has already scored four goals and added three assists, said he is glad about his decision to play in Fort St. John. He hopes to play for a major midget team next year and said playing for the Flyers will help accomplish that goal.