A month into the new hockey season, coach Martin Lawrie likes what he’s seen from his U16 Minor Midget Mustangs team.

The team of elite 15-year-old players gathered for the first time in mid-September and their gear has barely had a chance to dry since.

As expected, the new Hockey Yukon program consists of a five-to-one practice-to-game ratio.

The team practises every weekday morning, attends three dry-land training sessions each week at Better Bodies Fitness, works on systems on-ice Sunday and plays one game a week on Monday nights.

The lion’s share of the players are holdovers from last season’s B.C. provincial Tier 3 championship-winning team.

“Different kids are progressing differently, but as a group we’re skating better, we’re physically stronger on the puck ... it doesn’t look the same as the kids’ team from last year by any means,” Lawrie told the Star.

“I’m really happy. You’re seeing the benefit of the amount of ice they’re getting.”

On Monday, the young club downed a shorthanded Yukon Brewing team 6-3 at Takhini Arena.

Mustangs players showed plenty of poise and patience with the puck, sometimes toying with the older Yukon Brewing team, who had just three players on the bench for the exhibition contest.

They made some mistakes, too – getting a little too cute with their drop passes at times – but by and large, the Mustangs outplayed their counterparts in every facet of the game.

Underage player Kyron Crosby opened and closed the scoring, Johnny Elias sniped a pair, while Mackenzie Benn-Wipp and Niall Lawrie added singles to round out the scoring. Bryce Anderson and Oscar Burgess each had two assists.

Crosby’s second goal was especially pretty, as he finished off a three-way passing play, burying a shot behind Yukon Brewing goalie Brad Gustafson – a member of the Nuway Crushing Whitehorse Huskies.

Crosby is the team’s lone 13-year-old player.

Despite icing just eight forwards – Anderson and Benn-Wipp split time at centre – Mustangs players stood on the bench the entire game, anticipating their next shifts.

Between periods, the group gathered around coach Lawrie on the bench, listening attentively as he explained strategies on his whiteboard.

Yukon Brewing’s Terence Tait said he was impressed.

“You can tell they’re working lots,” he said of the Mustangs group. “They’ve got a great coach and they’re pushing hard. And they’ve got really good attitudes – they were very polite. Good for them.”

Yukon Brewing is a top-three team in the local rec league’s A Division early this season.

Prior to this week’s tilt versus Yukon Brewing, Lawrie said his team squared off three times for full-contact games with the U18 Hockey Yukon Mustangs.

For the most part, they’ve held their own, the coach said.

The team will take part in a number of tournaments this season – their first against a Juneau high school team early next month here in Whitehorse.

Currently, the U16 team’s forward core consists of Anderson, Benn-Wipp, Burgess, Crosby, Elias, Dion Fowler, Dylan Kindervater and Anthony Louie.

Luc Jirousek is expected to join the team in the near future.

The blue-line is made up of Cameron Gingell, Niall Lawrie, Kailem Letto, and Brett Walchuk, while Ethan Vanderkley is splitting the net-minding duties with newcomer Tyler Lindstrom.

Lawrie said his coaching style has experience a twist this year, as the group is not preparing for a year-end provincial tournament as they have in the past.

“It’s more about skill development and individually preparing the kids for the next level, next year,” the coach explained.

“A number of these guys will go on to higher-end midget programs and potentially junior programs. I think one or two of these kids – one for sure – is going to be drafted into the Western Hockey League.”

Anderson, 14, has been ranked by one western scouting agency for multiple years.

In future years, Crosby could garner similar attention, Lawrie said.

Benn-Wipp, whose frame shot up to six-foot-two over the summer, said the hard work is already paying off.

The 15-year-old was an offensive force throughout Monday’s contest, consistently displaying excellent speed and soft hands.

“Last year, we did a lot of this, but it’s new having practice in the morning,” said Benn-Wipp. “I love it. It’s a good way to start the day off ... and it’s a lot of ice time.”

He said the club recently went through a power-skating camp, which helped improve his speed.

Benn-Wipp is a Grade 10 student at F.H. Collins Secondary School.

In July, Hockey Yukon issued a call for interest to players across the North.

Three B.C. players answered, joining the newfangled program for its inaugural season.

Hazelton winger Anthony Louie is one of the new additions, joined by Smithers winger Dion Fowler and Prince George goalie Tyler Lindstrom.

Louie grew up playing in Hazelton, before making the move to Smithers, and now Whitehorse.

“I love it. I feel like I’m getting better every single day,” the 15-year-old playmaker said post-game Monday.

“I just want to get better at hockey and keep growing.”

A month into the program, Louie said he’s gaining better habits, such as continuously keeping his feet moving and pressuring the defence.

Lindstrom is living with a billet family this season, while Louie and Fowler’s families have combined to rent an apartment in the city. Their parents are taking turns living here, Lawrie explained.

The three new players are all attending Porter Creek Secondary School.

“We’re bonding,” said Benn-Wipp of the newly formed squad. “We’re still getting to know each other.”