Captains Corner / by Eric Akelaitis - President, Hollyburn Minor Hockey – October 27, 2015

I hope everyone had the opportunity to recharge during our beautiful summer on the North Shore, and that you're now ready for another great hockey at Hollyburn. The past 6 weeks have been very busy for hockey at our club, as well as with our many alumni still playing competitively in an assortment of leagues all over North America. On that note, I hope you enjoy this first edition of the 2015/16 Captain's Corner....

1/ HB Alumni has made the opening night roster of the NHL's . After a summer trade from the , Griffin has joined this year's first overall pick Connor McDavid on a young and exciting Oilers team. Griff's older brother was traded this summer from the to the , and enjoyed a strong pre-season in Nashville. He's currently playing center for their AHL farm team , and doing very well there. Good luck Max, on your journey to the NHL !

2/ Max and Griffin's younger brother is still only 19, and has made the opening night roster of the NHL . Sam scored his first NHL on Oct.17th against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and is quickly becoming an important cog in the Buffalo offence. Hard to believe that only a few days ago he was going head to head with ex-Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo!

From the Sabre's web site : Sam has been an important part of the Sabres power play this season, and in Thursday’s loss to Florida he set the screen on Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo that allowed Ennis to score with the man advantage. From his coach, Dan Bylsma - “Sam had an opportunity to be at the net front, he took it in the Columbus game and he was again there last night against Florida. Regardless of how hard Tyler Ennis shoots the puck, it wasn’t going in if it wasn’t for Sam being in the right place at the right time. He’s going to get ice time not only on the power play, but he’s going to get some time on the top line as well."

Sam played his final year of minor hockey at Hollyburn as a Bantam and then a year of Major Midget with the N.W. Giants, before skipping Junior A and moving directly to the . Congrats Sam, your pro hockey career is well underway !

3/ Congratulations to our most recent HB alumni now playing in the ‘dub’, Jake Christensen . Jake made the leap from playing Midget A1 at Hollyburn last year directly to the Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips this season. As a 16 year old entering grade 11, he's the first HB player to skip Junior A and go straight to the Western Hockey League since Sam did it a few years ago. This is a great accomplishment for Jake, and also for our hockey program - everyone at Hollyburn Minor Hockey wishes Jake the best of luck for the coming season. Congrats also to parents Eric & Tracy , who I'm sure will be wearing out the highway this season between here and Everett.

4/ For the 2015/16 hockey season, six of our recent alumni are playing in the BCHL . Jackson Cressey, Colton Kerfoot, Owen Stout and Keegan Jones are all playing Junior A for the Coquitlam Express . Jackson is leading both his club and the league in scoring. With his strong start, Jackson has recently made a commitment to Princeton in the NCAA Div I for the 2016/17 season. Jackson's line mate Colton Kerfoot has already signed with Harvard for next season and will be joining his brother and HB alumni Alex there. It's a great hockey program, and the education speaks for itself. Our 2013/14 Midget A1 captain Zac Bleuler is enjoying a strong second season on defence with the Junior A Langley Rivermen, and HB alum Henry Cleghorn cracked this year's roster on the Junior A Meritt Centennials . Henry played for coach Matt Sampson on the Junior B North Van Wolf Pack last season, and followed his coach to Merritt this season. He's off to a great start in Junior A, with 6 points in his first dozen games. Well done Henry , and good luck Matt , in your coaching move from Junior B to Junior A.

Good luck to all six of these HB alumni, in their quest for an RBC National Junior A Championship !

5/ The tryout process for the North Shore's major midget team, The Northwest Giants , began in early August. After all of the dust settled and the team selected, six HB alumni made the final roster. Returning players Carter Stephenson and Josh Latta were joined by first year additions Kyle Kaufmann, Lucas Barker, Jack Graham and Trevor Longo . All four played a huge part in last year's HB Midget team reaching the Final 4 , and along with Cater and Josh give this year's Giants team a distinct Hollyburn flavour. Looking at the BC Major Midget League early stats, Josh and Carter currently are tied in third place in league scoring, two points out of first.

Good luck to all six HB alumni, in their quest for a National Championship !

6/ Time to recognize our Midget A1 coaches Yash Farmanara, Cody McMullin and Nathan Fischer. Their two year stint coaching our Midget A1's has seen our top team reach the Lower Mainland Final 4 and also the BC Midget Provincial Championships . This year's flow of HB midget grads to the Major Midget League and the Western Hockey League speaks volumes about how well these coaches are preparing our best players for life after Hollyburn Hockey. Thanks guys, for your excellent work and enormous time commitment to our club's top team.

7/ Hollyburn Minor Hockey produces great leaders, cemented by the fact that many of our alumni go on to become captains of their junior teams. Griffin Reinhart was the captain of the Western Hockey League's when they won the , and Sam Reinhart was the captain of the WHL , as well as an assistant captain on Canada's 2015 World Junior Team that won their world championships last January. This year the tradition continues - Jono Ceci has been named captain of the SFU Varsity Men’s Hockey Team and Jackson Cressey has been named captain of the BCHL Coquitlam Express. Carter Stephenson was just named captain of the Major Midget Northwest Giants , the third year in a row that a Hollyburn alumni has captained that team. Carter follows in the footsteps of HB alumni Quinn Thompson and Keegan Jones, who were Giants captains the past two years.

8/ After playing for the Major Midget Northwest Giants last season, HB Alumni Shane Kime has moved on to play for the Junior B North Van Wolf Pack , who are looking to defend their PIJHL Championship. The team is currently in a 3 way tie for first in their division, and Shane is seeing a top 4 role on defence, with 8 points in 13 games. Come out on Saturday Nights to watch Shane and his Wolf Pack teammates at Harry Jerome in North , in their quest to defend their championship.

9/ Chris Clokie is suiting up for his second season as the starting goalie with the Valley Maple Leafs in the Nova Scotia Hockey League , and is also getting top grades studying Commerce at Acadia University. Behind Chris’s stellar goaltending this season, the team is undefeated with 4 straight wins. In his last season at Hollyburn in 2013/14, Chris led our Midget A1's to the Provincial Championships.

10 / Hollyburn Minor Hockey Alumni Mark Fletcher is playing for the WSHL Southern Oregon Spartans and living in Medford Oregon, near the California/Oregon border. The WSHL is a Junior A level USA league that plays 52 games annually, with a real international flavour. Mark's enjoying the experience of playing with juniors from all over Canada and the USA, as well as from Austria, the Czech Republic and England. His division plays their games in Washington, Oregon, California and Montana, with teams in the league as far east as Missouri. 11/ Most Friday nights at Hollyburn from September to March are now being called “Hockey Night at Hollyburn”. Read our weekly updates in your Tuesday email newsletters for more info on upcoming games, and for details on how our top Bantam and Midget A1 teams are doing in league play. From drink and food specials in the bar to our very own "Every Huskies Dream" program for our youngest players, Friday nights are special at our club during hockey season. Action begins at 6:10PM with a Hockey 4 game, followed by our Bantam A1 game at 7:20PM and our Midget A1 game at 8:55 PM. Come out and enjoy an evening in the bar and grill, meet up with old friends from your minor hockey days at the club and watch out top teams compete in Flight 1 against the best players in the Lower Mainland. This past Friday, between our 3 in-house games and the Canucks and Blue Jays being on the TV, the bar & grill was absolutely jam packed. Seeing our serving staff in their Huskies tee shirts and the huge crowds on the viewing deck watching our teams play their rivals from North Shore Winter Club was truly special for me. This is minor hockey at it's very best, and well worth checking out. I look forward to seeing you all up at the Club on Friday nights !

12/ Our Midget A1 team has been finalized and coaches Yash, Nate and Cody are working hard with the group to achieve their team goals. During the Kamloops Thanksgiving weekend tourney the team had a record of two wins and two losses, beating the Richmond and BWC A1 teams and losing to Ridge Meadows A1 and Prince George. The team will now focus on the remaining games in the tiering portion of the schedule, and also on their upcoming Victoria Tournament in November. Check out the Midget Team Board just outside of Dressing Room 1, where our club’s top players are honored.

13/ Our Midget C1 and C2 teams have begun league play. Coaches Eric Johnson, Norm Sawyer and Brad Wise are looking to repeat the strong performances of both teams from the past two years, and bring home a couple of banners. Good luck guys !

14/ Another Hollyburn Minor Hockey Alumni has made it to the NHL. Ryan Gibbons, who played his minor hockey at Hollyburn and was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes , turned to refereeing after his professional career came to an end. Ryan became a linesman and worked his way up through the WHL to the where he has now signed a professional contract with the NHL for the 2015/16 hockey season. Congratulations Ryan on this great accomplishment!

15/ Our Peewee A1 team , coached by Jack Cummings, Kit Matkaluk, Tate Matkaluk and Danny Birch competed in the Abbotsford Minor Hockey Peewee tournament over the Thanksgiving weekend. After the dust settled, the team found themselves in the tournament final against a strong Peewee team from North Delta. Our team jumped out to a 2 – 1 lead on goals from Chase Nicholson and Jonny Corbett and held off a hard charging South Delta team to win the Championship. Congratulations to the team and on their great start to the year!

16/ The Hollyburn Peewee A2 team competed in the Peewee Squamish Minor Hockey Tournament over the Thanksgiving weekend. After completing the round robin, the team found themselves in the bronze medal game. Our boys battled a strong team from Ridge Meadows and came out on the losing end, but the experience will set them up for a strong performance during the placement portion of the team's league schedule. Good work guys !

17/ Our Peewee C1 and C2 teams have started league play. At this point they are early into the season and we are looking forward to tracking how these teams do throughout the year.

18/ The Hollyburn Bantam A1 team had a jam packed schedule to start the year, to say the very least. They went 21 days in a row together as a team, between tournaments, league games, practices and work outs. The coaching staff of Mike Allen, West Aggassiz, Jono Ceci and Don Ceci had the team starting out this season participating in the Can Am Tournament hosted by the Burnaby and North Shore Winter Clubs. The team faced elite teams from Kelowna's Pursuit of Excellence Academy, Kelowna's Bantam A1 squad , and international competitors San Jose and Dallas, with all games being very close affairs. The team then travelled to Kelowna to participate in the Kelowna Minor Hockey Bantam A1 Tourney , where they had a record of 2 wins and 2 losses - beating North Vancouver and Prince George, and losing to Kelowna and Seafair. The team is currently undefeated in placement play and is working hard preparing for its next game this Friday night at Hollyburn. Come out and cheer on Captain Cooper Connell , Assistant Captains Tristan Fraser and Josh Wong , and all of their teammates this Friday night at Hollyburn.

19/ The Hollyburn Bantam A2's are off to a quick start in their placement round, with a record of 3 wins and 0 losses . Coaches Sean Smith and David Venance have their team playing great hockey, with wins in the placement round against Vancouver Bantam A2, West Vancouver Bantam A1 and Whistler Bantam A1, where they outscored their opponents 14 – 7. The team plays Saturday afternoons up at Hollyburn, so come by and check out their strong team. Many of these boys will in all likelihood be making up a large portion of the 2016/17 Bantam A1 team.

20 / To me, the most important part of the Hollyburn Minor Hockey Program is the Initiation Program, for our youngest members . This program is for players aged 6, 7 and 8 and represents the future of Hockey at Hollyburn. It is also known as Hockey 2, 3 and 4. At Hollyburn Minor Hockey we really want to connect our oldest and youngest players, and as such have created the “Every Huskies Dream” program. If you are the parent of an H3, H4 or Atom aged player, I encourage you to participate in Every Huskies Dream, where your child gets to meet our Midget A1 players at a Friday night home game. Each week the selected player will be joining the midget team in their locker room before the game and participating in their pre-game warm up on the ice. Midget A1 Team Manager David Bell will present your child with 2 special hockey books and a puck autographed by team captain Gavin Chrystal , followed by reserved seats for the game. The response has been phenomenal, and those pictures will last a lifetime. What a great opportunity for our youngest players to connect with our oldest, and to dream of one day having their name appear on the Midget team's board of honour, located just outside of the A1 dressing room. I come out to most Friday night Bantam & Midget games, and one of the highlights of my night is seeing the initiation player leading the Midgets onto the ice. It's a special moment, and one we can all be proud of.

Eric A.