Pats’ rookies don’t have it easy
There’s a rite of passage for WHL newcomers that has little to do with filling water bottles or packing the team bus.
In the grand scheme, traditional rookie chores are a superficial component of their baptism to life in major-junior hockey. The true initiation takes place on the ice when players are thrown into hockey’s equivalent of shark-infested waters.
“It really is a big adjustment,” offered forward Jake Elmer, who’s in his first season with the Regina Pats. “I would say it’s the secondbest league in the world next to the NHL. Coming from a midget league where one or two guys per team may go up to this level, it’s a big step just because of the skill differential, the quickness and the decision making.
“It’s a huge step up for sure, more than people think.”
Lane Zablocki is experiencing it first-hand. Although the 17-year-old forward has a year under his belt with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders, there’s no getting around the fact that he’s still a rookie at the WHL level.
“I’ve found it to be quite an adjustment,” said Zablocki, one of nine first-year skaters in Regina. “Playing a year of junior A definitely helped make the adjustment a bit easier but the guys are bigger, stronger and move the puck a lot better. This is a lot more structured league. It’s just an all-around tougher game to play.”
The acclimation process isn’t limited to the ice. There’s also a lifestyle change as players adjust to the constant demands of a more professional hockey environment — not to mention an element of celebrity status.
“We’re public figures in the city,” noted Elmer. “At school everyone knows you play for the Pats. You don’t get that when you’re playing midget.”
There’s also less time for WHL players to just be kids.
“I’m skating a lot more now and I’m working out a lot more,” continued Elmer. “There’s a high demand (on your time) but it’s fun. Playing hockey is what I love to do. It’s one of the requirements to play at the junior level and hopefully move on (to the pro ranks). It’s a sacrifice you have to make.”
In addition to their hockey duties, the players are also required to represent the team in the community and take part in various charitable activities.
It’s all built into the daily rigours of life in the WHL.
“It’s a busy schedule,” said Zablocki. “You learn to have better time management and all those life skills that help you in the future. You need to have your priorities set out.”
Although the players’ main focus is on hockey, they’re not exempt from normal teenage problems and responsibilities. That includes school. “For me, the student-athlete aspect of it is not a big change,” said Elmer. “I went to a sports school back home (in Calgary) and we’d be doing school work on the road. But moving away from home is a tough thing for a lot of guys, especially for me. I’m really close with my family. It’s hard to adjust but most of the guys have the ability to do it. You have to grow up fast.”
It’s also a balancing act for the coaches, who have to guide their players through every aspect of the transition.
“It is a big change,” noted Pats assistant coach/assistant GM Dave Struch. “For a lot of them it’s the first time away from home, billet families, new school, new teammates, new friends away from school. It’s a different lifestyle as far as the game goes, the practices. The whole thing is new for them. They’re maturing through experience and all these little experiences in life can change these guys forever.” Hopefully for the better. “It’s (about) the big picture,” added Struch. “We’re not just here to develop hockey players. We’re here to develop them as people and professionals, as mature young men. You can’t be with them 24/7 but we want to give them the best possible environment that they can have success. The guidance and leadership of some of our older guys is really important. Those are small details that matter outside the game of hockey so when they do come to the rink and it’s game-time they can just think about hockey.”