Hometown boys Crushers lineup includes three local players
Standing in the hallway outside the Pictou County Weeks Crushers dressing room after practice, Robert Burrows gives a high five to a small boy in skates and a helmet waiting to go on the ice.
A few other youngsters ask for pucks. He remembers doing that himself, and so does his teammate Evan MacLennan.
“I used to be that little kid,” said MacLennan. “I used to try to get a broken stick, too. I’m pretty sure I got a couple.”
The requests come with the territory of being on the local Jj something the three Pictou County players on this season’s edition are trying to get used to.
Burrows, MacLennan and Jake Martin are all from New Glasgow, the first time in several years the team has had a number of local players.
“There are four kids from Pictou County playing in the league and three of them are with us,” said Crushers assistant coach and general manager Chad McDavid, a number that includes Nathan Legere of New Glasgow, who plays for the Truro Bearcats. “There’s not an abundance playing at this level and we were able to keep three of them.”
McDavid said the team normally doesn’t have a large turnout of local players at the training camp, despite the team’s efforts. “I approached a number of local players, but they declined,” he said, adding that once they graduate from high school, most players opt to focus on their education. “It’s a big commitment to playing Junior A hockey and going to school.”
The trio grew up watching the Crushers, and Martin said it’s “pretty special” to be a member of the team.
“I grew up here and always watched them growing up. At a young age I always thought of playing for them,” said Burrows. Currently listed as an affiliate player, he has played a number of games for the team.
The right-winger was a member of the North Nova Education Centre Gryphons last season, where he was named top forward for the team that won the Division 1 NSSAF Championship. Before returning to school in New Glasgow, he played for King’s-Edgehill School in Windsor for his Grades 9, 10 and 11 years. While there, he received the Tim Ross Memorial Award for hockey players who show commitment to a strong work ethic on and off the ice.
Both Burrows and MacLennan graduated from NNEC in June, and now attend the Nova Scotia Community College in Stellarton.
MacLennan came to the Crushers from three years on the Weeks Major Midgets, his last season as captain. The centre was named the most valuable player for the squad in 2016 with a record of 14 goals and 27 assists.
“He’s a big, strong power forward who works extremely hard on and off the ice to get better every day,” said McDavid.
MacLennan and Martin, another centre, were teammates on the major midget team in the 2015-16 season. A Grade 11 student at NNEC, Martin is one of two players in the Maritime Hockey League born in 2000.
The 16-year-old was drafted to the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in June, where he was among the last cuts before the team’s roster was announced.
“He’s the type of player that came to camp after getting let go from the Screaming Eagles and fit right in,” said McDavid. “We’d like to think as an organization that he’s using our program as a stepping stone to a higher level.”
With two years left in Midget, it was a huge decision for Martin to play Junior hockey.
“I was able to make the jump and I thought it was the best option for me to play. It was a long, tough decision,” he said.