SYDNEY — The transition from major bantam to the major midget hockey has been anything but major for Logan O’Neil.

The Cape Breton Tradesmen rookie forward leads his team and is eighth in the Nova Scotia EastLink Major Midget Hockey League with 28 points, scoring nine goals and adding 19 assists in 24 games.

The 15-year-old from Albert Bridge credited linemates Branden Dauphinee and Dylan Morley for his strong rookie season.

“They’ve been a big part of our team and my success throughout the year,” said the 6-0, 165-pound forward, a second-team all-star with the Cougars major bantam team last season with 52 points in 33 games. “The coaches are doing a good job of making our team and our lines successful, too.”

His strong start resulted in O’Neil being named to Nova Scotia’s male hockey team for the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, B.C.

“It was a long, two year process and having my coach telling me I made the team, words couldn’t describe it,” he said.

O’Neil is part of a Tradesmen team that has been playing some improved hockey as of late. They’re 6-3-1-0 in their last 10 games, and are looking to make a move up the standings from their current seventh place position (8-13-2-1).

“I think we’re just gelling together,” said O’Neil. “We’re communicating more, we’re trying to get better on specialty teams and it’s starting to become a factor. We’re starting to be successful.”

Their cross-island rivals, the Cape Breton West Islanders, stand in their way on Wednesday. The teams meet at Centre 200 starting at 7:05 p.m.

The fifth-place Islanders (10-13-2-1) have won three of four games between the teams this season. Cape Breton West won the previous meeting at the Al MacInnis Sports Centre in Port Hood on Dec. 3 by a 5-3 final, a game Tradesmen head coach Aaron Rice feels his team let slip away.

“The last game, we played well enough for 30 minutes,” said Rice. “The last 10 minutes for the first, second, and third periods, we let our foot off the gas and we let them off the hook. If we’re going to be effective, we have to put 60 minutes together.

“We learned from that, rebounded and had a good weekend against two teams from New Brunswick. Against a team like Cape Breton West, we’re going to get their best game every game, and we have to make sure that we give them ours.”

Following Wednesday’s clash, the Tradesmen will host the Valley Wildcats this weekend for a two-game set at Centre 200 on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at noon. The Islanders play the Newbridge Academy Gladiators in Port Hosod on Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at noon.

Cape Breton Tradesmen

Record: 8-13-2-1 (7th place)

Streak: 2-0-0-0

Last 10: 6-3-1-0

Top three scorers: Logan O’Neil (9 goals, 19 assists, 28 points), Branden Dauphinee (13 goals, 11 assists, 24 points); Dylan Morley (6 goals, 13 assists, 19 points)

Cape Breton West Islanders

Record: 10-13-2-1 (5th place)

Streak: 0-2-1-0

Last 10: 3-5-2-0

Top three scorers: Declan Smith (15 goals, 17 assists, 32 points), Avery Warner (10 goals, 17 assists, 27 points), Mark Kennedy (8 goals, 18 assists, 26 points)

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