New hockey academy aiming high
RHA Nationals set to compete with biggest preps schools
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This article was published 18/04/2016 (3759 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A new hockey academy in Winnipeg is taking aim at some of the sport’s biggest prep schools.
RHA Nationals, which will compete in the Canadian Sports School Hockey League alongside teams such as the one from the famed Yale Hockey Academy, will ice two teams in the bantam prep and midget prep divisions.
RHA Nationals will be the first male hockey academy in the province to be accepted into the prep division without having played a game. The team already has some top-tier talent committed to the program.
The Rink, Elite Performance and GDI Goaltending, which all operate out of 91 Lowson Cres., will combine to provide the on- and off-ice instruction and RHA has partnered with Shaftesbury High School, where each of the players will attend morning classes, five days a week.
“Shaftesbury has the capacity,” said Ted Fransen, superintendent of education with Pembina Trails School Division. “They also have an excellent academic program and that matches the excellence on the ice, so it’s the perfect marriage of high-quality education and high-quality hockey.”
Catherine Birch, who will become principal of Shaftesbury next year, is excited by the opportunity.
“We want to make sure that our students are not only graduation-ready but admission-ready,” she said. “We’ve created sections that ensure they have enough credits not only to graduate with a Manitoba high school diploma but also that they can apply to any university or college in Canada or the United States.”
Players will be required to maintain a high GPA.
Brad Purdie, who has spent time with Hockey Manitoba coaching young players in Manitoba’s provincial program, is set to be the team’s bench boss.
“It’s an exciting time for The Rink and their family of partners here,” he said. “For me, I’m excited to get back behind the bench. I wasn’t actively coaching this year other than the U16 team for Manitoba.”
Purdie said the team will be travelling extensively as the other academies in the league are B.C. and Alberta-based.
Seth Jarvis, who led the Bantam 2 league in scoring as a member of the Winnipeg Monarchs, and Ty Thorpe, who was a top player on the Brandon Wheat Kings bantam squad as an underage player, are among the 10 kids committed.
“I had a really great time in AAA but here the development is a big piece and if I want to go further in hockey, this is the best choice for me,” Jarvis said. “It’s going to be a challenge but it’s not going to be nearly the challenge if we were going in with a different kind of team.”
“I’m excited. It’s going to be a great opportunity for me here,” Thorpe added. “I just want to keep developing and have a good transition into the next level. Being on the ice almost every day is going to be great for that.”