Major feat
Millbrook’s Blackmore nabs midget league MVP award
Millbrook’s G Blackmore was rewarded for a brilliant season with the Weeks Major Midgets by being named MVP of the NSMMHL.
G Blackmore had high expectations this season, but even he’s surprised by his success.
Blackmore, of Millbrook, was named Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League MVP after leading the loop in points as captain of the Weeks Major Midgets.
“I was pretty optimistic for this year,” said Blackmore, 17, who picked up his MVP honour on Friday during the league’s annual awards banquet. “I came in just wanting to work hard and do good for my team but I wasn’t really expecting anything like this.”
Blackmore, a Grade 12 student at Cobequid Educational Centre, tallied 28 goals and 75 points in 37 games to win the scoring race. It was a major increase in production from last season when he finished with 15 goals and 31 points as a rookie.
“I just wanted to lead my team by example,” he said. “I felt like there’s a lot of pressure on me to contribute and it just ended up working out. I had two great line-mates who passed me the puck a lot and thankfully I put it in the net.”
Blackmore centred a line between brothers Jaden and Kevin Mason, who finished second and third in league scoring, respectively.
Blackmore went undrafted last summer in the Quebec major junior league, however,
his stellar play this season caught the eye of the Moncton Wildcats, who signed him as a free agent in early January. He played in eight games for the Wildcats and acquitted himself well, scoring one goal and adding four assists.
“That was great,” Blackmore said of playing for the Wildcats. “They’re not having the best year but they’re still a really good organization. It was just a really good experience for me; it
helped me a lot in midget.”
Blackmore is five-foot-nine and weighs 165 pounds. But what he lacks in size, he makes up for in speed, smarts and work ethic. He also plays with an edge, and racked up a teamhigh 124 penalty minutes.
“When we got him back this season it was obviously a big boost for our lineup and we had some pretty high expectations, as did he, and G’s delivered,” said Weeks coach Kyle MacLennan.
“As a player I think he makes the four other players on the ice better when he’s on the ice, and as a leader I think he’s really evolved this year; I think he’s really grown into that role, and guys look to him, not just to produce offence, but to lead by example and he’s been a real driving force to any successes we’ve had this year.”
Blackmore, whose Maritime junior A rights are owned by the Truro Bearcats, became the first Colchester County resident to win the Nova Scotia major midget league scoring title since Trevor Hunt of Tatamagouche won it in 1998-99 as a member of Weeks (35 GP, 34G-28A-62 Pts.).
Brookfield’s Randy Frame was the last Colchester County player to win the league MVP award in 1995-96, also while playing for Weeks.
Blackmore and his teammates lost the first two games of their first-round playoff series against the Cole Harbour Wolfpack on the weekend. Blackmore had three assists in a 5-3 loss Saturday and scored twice in a 4-2 loss on Sunday.
The best-of-seven series resumes this weekend at the Pictou County Wellness Centre. The teams meet Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at noon.