Homecoming for Brooks foursome

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This article was published 04/05/2023 (1232 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hughie Hooker is a slick, play-making defenceman for the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Brooks Bandits but his biggest moment of the 2023 post-season so far was a beautiful accident.

Early in overtime of Game 4 in the AJHL final April 26, the 19-year-old Winnipegger cleared the puck into the Spruce Grove zone before heading to the bench.

“I was going for a change and I just kind of kept an eye on it and I saw it bounce off the back wall and then I saw (forward Heath) Armstrong start celebrating in front of the net,” said Hooker, who was born in Brandon and grew up in Winnipeg. “I don’t really remember much after that.”

The goal, coming after the puck caromed into the net off Saints goaltender Spencer Michnik, gave the Bandits a 2-1 victory and a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

“It was a dump-in but we know the bottom yellow part of the boards at the Spruce Grove rink is super bouncy,” added Hooker. “You can just kind of throw it off the boards and you never really know where it’s going to end up. And I just kind of got lucky there.”

Two nights later, Brooks clinched its second consecutive league title with a 3-2 overtime win on home ice.

The triumph also sent the Bandits, bolstered by Manitobans such as Hooker, Winnipeggers Sam Court and Jordan Hughesman and Oak Lake’s Hunter Wallace, to the Centennial Cup national junior A championship, which begins next week in Portage la Prairie.

The Bandits, rated No. 1 in the most recent Canadian Junior Hockey League poll and looking to repeat as national champs, open their title defence with a preliminary round game against the Maritime Hockey League champion Yarmouth (N.S.) Mariners on Thursday, May 11 at 3:30 p.m.

Hooker and Wallace are returnees from last year’s title-winning team while Court and Hughesman were added to the mix this season.

On the surface, chasing a national title in your home province sounds like a fun time but is there a chance all those friendly faces in the stands at Stride Place could be a distraction?

“I kind of see it as an upside and a positive thing,” said Court, who led all AJHL defenceman with a whopping 72 points in 52 regular-season games.

“Because playing in Brooks, it’s about 10-12 hours from Winnipeg, and my parents came up for the majority of the playoffs, which was awesome — but to play in front of my brothers — I have one brother who plays pro hockey in (Rapid City, ECHL) and he hasn’t seen me play in probably two, three years. So, it’ll be pretty cool to play in front of him, my cousins and my aunties and uncles and all my best friends, too.”

The left-shot Hooker and right-shot Court, teammates when they both played for the Winnipeg Wild U18s, are a regular defensive pairing and are enjoying the on-ice partnership.

“I love playing with him,” said Court. “He’s one of my best friends back home, too, so playing with him is a treat for sure..

“Me and Hughie have very similar strengths with moving the puck quick and jumping up in the play and trying to create extra offence. Both of us have kind of stepped up a lot throughout this year and really improved our games on the offensive side.”

Hughesman, who switched to centre on the third line after captain Dario Beljo suffered a broken right hand early in the AJHL final, joined Brooks after starting the season with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.

“(Hughesman’s) played in the middle, he’s played both walls, he’s killed penalties and he’s played on the power play,” said Bandits GM and head coach Ryan Papaioannou. “In a good way, he’s been a Jack of all trades, and seemingly the guy can play in any spot and he’ll look very comfortable.”

Wallace, who occupies the left-wing slot on the club’s top line, has gone through a lengthy injury rehab just to be here. He missed 32 regular-season games after suffering a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee on Nov. 11.

The 20-year-old went to Raleigh, N.C., to have surgery and rebounded to finish the regular season with 20 goals and 40 points in 28 games.

“When I first got injured I thought I was gonna be done for the year but I was able to go down (to the U.S.) and get surgery and I was back after 11 weeks,” said Wallace, who expects to delay his move by one season to Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass., to return for his overage junior season in 2023-24.

Wallace went directly from injury rehab back to the top line and his familiar spot on the first power-play unit.

“I don’t know if we felt like we needed to start slowly with him,” said Papaioannou. “He practised, he got himself back as close to game shape as I think he could. We just felt like he’s the guy that got us there all year long and so as soon as he was ready, we put him right back into the mix.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca