Coming into this season, Vancouver Canucks forward Mason Raymond set some lofty goals for himself.

Twenty-five goals, 28 assists and 82 games later it’s safe to say those goals and more were reached in what quickly became a breakthrough year for the young Cochrane winger.
“I always feel like you’re learning something and moving forward,” Raymond said during a recent phone interview.

“Every day I am learning what it takes to be a professional hockey player and to continue to be an effective player for years to come.

Effective would be a good word to summarize Raymond’s 2009-10 campaign to date, as the 24-year-old set career highs in every noteworthy statistical category this season and became a staple in the Canucks’ lineup, appearing in every one of the team’s regular-season games.

Mason Raymond will look to be an impact player for the Vancouver Canucks as they open the NHL playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings. Photo by Jeremy Nolais

Of course, none of Raymond’s accomplishments are the topic of discussion now, as the National Hockey League quickly shifts focus to the post-season, and the top 16 teams begin the marathon chase for the Stanley Cup.

The Canucks locked up third in the Western Conference by winning the Northwest Division and now have a date with the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round. Raymond believes the key for his team is to take things one game at a time.

“There’s never an easy game, it’s a tough league and any given night these teams come to play,” he said. “I think, at the end of the day, if we are focused on what we can control and doing our thing we are a tough team to beat.”

Up front, Raymond won’t be the only one looked upon to ignite Vancouver’s offence, as the Canucks also boast the NHL’s top regular-season scorer Henrik Sedin and his playmaking twin brother Daniel. On the back end, Olympic gold medal winning netminder Roberto Luongo will look to find his top form after struggling somewhat down the stretch.

“(Luongo’s) only human. Everybody goes through ups and downs,” Raymond said. “He’s finding his consistency and is a huge part of our club. We will rely on him a great deal down the stretch.”

If the Canucks are able to get past the Kings, tough challenges could come from the Western Conference’s top two teams, the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks.

Raymond made his post-season debut during a second round series with the ’Hawks last season, potting two goals and adding an assist as the Canucks fell in six games. Raymond said he learned a great deal from that series and is ready for any challenge awaiting him during this year’s playoff run.

“At the end of the day, you are going to have to play the toughest teams if you hope to go all the way,” he said.

And when the heated NHL playoff action finally comes to a cool, Raymond will find himself in unfamiliar territory as a restricted free agent — meaning he can entertain new contracts from other teams but the Canucks are given the opportunity to match any offer and will be awarded compensatory draft picks if he leaves.

When asked about his possible endeavours in the off-season, Raymond said he plans to let his play do the talking.

“The only thing I can control is what I do on the ice,” he said.

The Canucks open the playoffs against the Kings on April 15 in Vancouver.

Medicine Hat Tigers captain Wacey Hamilton of Cochrane hopes to be drafted by an NHL club this summer. Photo by Jeremy Nolais

Tigers’ Hamilton clawing at the pros

And while Raymond may have multiple contract offers to weigh this summer, fellow Cochranite Wacey Hamilton is looking for just one chance to prove himself in the pros.

The young captain’s season in the Western Hockey League officially came to a close April 11, as his Medicine Hat Tigers fell 3-2 in overtime to the Calgary Hitmen to drop their Eastern Conference semifinal series four games to two.

Much like Raymond, Hamilton set numerous career markers this season, finishing the regular-season campaign with 24 goals and 41 assists in 67 games.

“As captain you can’t expect to be a leader for your teammates if you’re not doing your part,” Hamilton explained.

Hamilton also proved to be a consistent force in the playoffs for Medicine Hat, notching eight points in 12 games, as the Tigers topped the Kootenay Ice and pushed the No. 1-seeded Hitmen to six games.

If he had it his way, Hamilton would already be the property of an NHL team; however, injuries last season cost him any chance of being drafted. Now, the 19-year-old heads into the off-season looking for a shot at the big time.

“I am just going to stay optimistic and see what happens,” he said.

Springbank’s Joe Colborne signed a three-year deal with the Boston Bruins March 31 after two seasons with the Denver Pioneers of the NCAA. Photo courtesy University of Denver

Springbank scorer inks deal with Bruins

Hamilton and Raymond aren’t the only local skaters looking for a steady job in the NHL, as Springbank’s Joe Colborne officially signed a three-year contract with the Boston Bruins on March 31.

Colborne, the 16th-overall pick in 2008 NHL Draft, had his time in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) cut short this past season, as his Denver Pioneers were upset by the Rochester Institute of Technology in the opening round of the Division 1 Men’s Hockey Championships.

After signing with Boston, Colborne reported to the organization’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Providence Bruins, and played in the team’s six remaining regular-season games, picking up two assists in the process.

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The nail-biting second half as shot after shot failed to find the bottom of the basket.

The celebratory dogpile at centre-court after the final buzzer rang.

Yes, March 12 was a day the St. Timothy Thunder won’t soon forget, as the little school of 320 students — only 150 of which are in senior high school — captured its first-ever high school championship in any sport with a 44-34 victory in the Calgary junior varsity girls basketball Division 3 city final.

Behind the historic St. Timothy victory is a group of 12 girls that head coach Brent Breit describes as “very special.”

“They all work so hard,” said Breit, who led the same crew to St. Timothy’s first-ever junior high championship a few years prior. “I told them it doesn’t matter what the other team’s doing as long as we are giving our best, and they did that all season long.”

Proof of the Thunder’s effort throughout the season isn’t hard to find, as the team went a perfect 9-0 in the regular season and outscored the opposition 518-228. In fact, the Thunder were so good that they even began scheduling games against senior varsity opponents.

St. Timothy point guard Leah Loeppky believes the key to her team’s success lies in player chemistry.

“Everyone is really close, we all get along and play as a team. This is a great group of girls,” Loeppky said.
Heading into the post-season as the top-ranked squad, the Thunder didn’t really miss a beat. St. Timothy opened with a 51-13 thumping of No. 8 seed James Fowler in the quarterfinals and followed that up with a 66-39 win over the No. 4-seeded Timberwolves from Bishop McNally.

In the championship game, St. Timothy faced off against Crescent Heights, a school with more than four times the student population. Unfortunately for the Thunder, Crescent Heights had already been pre-determined as the host school for the city championship games, meaning the Thunder would be forced to play on their opponent’s court despite being the higher seed.

St. Timothy post player Carissa Alexander said she was ready for a battle coming into the final.
“Crescent is definitely the toughest team in the league,” Alexander said. “We knew they would come out and play hard. They are really strong defensively.”

And that Crescent Heights defence seemed to stymie the Thunder in the second half, as their halftime cushion of 15 points was cut to just eight after three quarters of play.

“We were getting a little more tired and our nerves got the better of us a bit,” Loeppky recalled.
During the second-half break, Breit attempted to relax his young group and remind them of the things they had done well all season long.

“We made a few mistakes down the stretch,” Breit said. “I had a feeling coming in that it was going to be one of those situations where we just have to keep everyone calm.”

In the fourth quarter, the Thunder continued to struggle in the offensive end but relied on steady defence to hold the Crescent Heights girls, who led the league in scoring during the regular season, to just nine points to secure the victory.

As the final buzzer rang, screams from the Thunder players filled the air as they stampeded to centre court and piled on top of each other. The dozens of St. Timothy fans that had made the trip into Calgary to erase any notion of home-court advantage for Crescent Heights exploded in applause. Numerous players and parents alike could be seen wiping away tears of joy.

“We were all just so happy,” Loeppky exclaimed. “It was an amazing feeling.”

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Local hard courts will be busy in the weeks ahead as high school basketball teams battle it out for a coveted spot in the provincial finals.

And for the Cochrane High Cobras senior boys team to be successful they will need serious input from two team members living under the same roof.

Head coach Jamie McLellan and his son Jared, a senior guard on the team, will be looked upon to lead a spirited Cobras team that has eyes on making a run all the way to the big prize.

“The goal is to win provincials,” Jamie said bluntly. “I think when we started the season off and I told the parents that they said ‘Yeah sure, whatever,’ but the kids have really started to believe in themselves.”

Cochrane High Cobras head coach Jamie McLellan, left, and his son Jared believe the Cobras have what it takes to contend for senior boys 3A provincial title. Photo by Patrick Price.

Basketball, and winning for that matter, have been in the McLellan blood for a long time. Jamie led Winston Churchill High School to the 4A provincial title in Grade 12 and starred as a shooting guard at the University of Lethbridge for five years. He also coached Jared’s team in Grade 9 at Calgary’s Montgomery Junior High School as the team ran all the way to the city championship.

Jared, meanwhile, is no slouch in his own right. He played on the Cobras football team, first as a receiver and then as a quarterback this season before being sidelined by multiple injuries. As well, during this year’s basketball campaign, Jared has consistently found himself atop the Cobras scoresheet.

“He’s a really good shooter,” Jamie said of his son. “Football has been good for a lot of these kids because it’s taught them to be tough and aggressive. Jared certainly has benefited from that, he’s become more aggressive. It’s a more physical game than it was 10 years ago. The refs let the kids play now.”

Jared said that if he had to choose between football and basketball he has always felt more at home on the court.

“I’ve grown up with it, played it (basketball) my whole life,” Jared said. “I am better at it too.”

Jared noted that he likes having his father as his coach because, “He pushes me more than other kids because he expects more and that helps me to become a better player.”

Having said that, Jared said he and Jamie make sure to keep their work on the court separate from their family life.

“He makes sure that everyone knows I am just another player on the team and we make sure that he is my coach on the basketball court, but when we leave there he becomes my dad again,” said Jared, who hopes to follow in Jamie’s footsteps by earning a spot on the U of L basketball roster next season.

But before any post-secondary aspirations can be realized, the father-son duo will first face a tough road to the 3A Provincial Championships in Medicine Hat March 18-20.

Jamie said that while the Rocky View basketball division is not as strong as last year — when Springbank and Chestermere finished one-two in the province — the south-central zone could be very tough, with the Cobras, Canmore and Springbank all contending. The south-central zone will be only granted two automatic berths to provincials, but teams can also qualify through one of two wild card spots.

Jamie, who is currently in his second season at the helm of the Cobras, said his team’s best asset lies in their depth.
“You look at the games we have won and invariably at least eight, nine kids are on the scoresheet and most games it’s more like 10 or 11,” he said.

The McLellan duo and the rest of the Cobras senior boys team, ranked third in Rocky View behind Springbank and the 4A squad from Airdrie’s Bert Church High School, kick off post-season play against the Bow Valley Bobcats March 3 at 7:45 p.m. at Cochrane High.

The Cochrane High senior girls team will also face Bow Valley in the opening round, with that game going at Cochrane High at 6 p.m. on March 3.

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The signs of a gifted young hockey player are all there.

A team-first mentality, the ability to compete against more experienced players and a knack for putting the puck in the net. And the best part of all is that she’s just 14 years of age.

Yes, Cochrane’s Samantha Sutherland is a coaches’ dream, just ask her current bench boss Mikko Makela.

“She’s a very good player, very skilled, everything’s good,” said Makela, current hockey director and head coach at Warner Hockey School in southern Alberta where Sutherland debuted this season. “She’s a ninth grade player who plays like an eleventh grade player.”

After roughly 50 games with Sutherland under his direction, Makela — a Finnish professional hockey player who spent six seasons in the NHL between 1985 and 1990, has already declared her the most skilled 14-year-old female hockey player in Canada.

“That’s what I believe, there are maybe other people who think a little differently about some other players, but I’m not too far I don’t think,” he said.

Sutherland made the jump to the Warner Warriors midget team directly from peewee hockey in Cochrane. Competing with her team in the Junior Women’s Hockey League — featuring elite teams from all over North America — often forces the 5’2”, 122-pound forward to line up against players as much as five years older than her.

None of it seems to have slowed down her offensive production, however, as Sutherland sits third on Warner in scoring with 21 goals and 21 assists — an even split for a player who prides herself on her playmaking skills.

“I try to always work hard every shift and try to set up good scoring chances for my team,” Sutherland said. “I try to control the play as much as I can.”

Sutherland said her first year at Warner has been better than she ever imagined.

“Being away from my family took a bit of time to adjust to but everyone involved in the program here is so nice and has been so supportive to me, they are like my second family,” she said. “Also, adjusting to playing Midget AAA was a real challenge because the play is so fast and most of the players are quite a bit older than me.”

As well, the small-town atmosphere in Warner, which at a population of slightly more than 300 people makes Cochrane seem like a metropolis, has quickly grown on Sutherland.

“Everyone in the town knows us and says hi, it makes you feel special,” she explained. “If you come to a home game on Saturday night you will see a lot of Warner pride and fans who haven’t missed a home game in six years.”

Now, Sutherland will take a brief hiatus from Warner and head north to the Lakeland Region for the Alberta Winter Games Feb. 4-7. There, she will serve as captain on a Zone 2 girls hockey team featuring seven fellow Cochranites.

It will be the young forward’s second trip to the Games as she helped Zone 2 capture silver in 2008.
Zone 2 head coach Claude Vilgrain, a former NHLer in his own right who now coaches the Calgary Bantam AAA Outlaws, said choosing Sutherland as his captain was a no-brainer.

“She has the experience, the skill level, awareness and hockey sense that is above her age level,” Vilgrain said. “She is a very smart player and very driven player as well and that helps.”

Other Cochranites on the team are Hannah Olenyk, Emily Potts, Cylenna Alexander, Andie Boeckman, Channia Alexander as well as netminders Jade Walsh and Kirsten Chamberlin. Chamberlin, specifically, was a surprising selection for the team as she is just 11 years old — the minimum age required to participate in the Games.

“We just had no choice but to pick her, she did what she had to do,” Vilgrain said of Chamberlin, who stops pucks for the division-leading Cochrane Rockies Tier 1 Peewee girls team of the Rocky Mountain Female Hockey League.

As for projections on how his team will perform, Vilgrain said they will be competitive but face stiff competition from the Calgary players on the Zone 3 team — including his own daughter Cassandra — and the Red Deer team representing Zone 4.

“Chemistry is the key,” he said. “The teams have to come out of the gate pretty quick and the ones that are able to do this will be the most successful.”
Sutherland, meanwhile, is excited for the competition to get underway.

“I just try to lead by example and try to keep the team positive and focused on playing our best,” she said. “If you are out there working hard the whole team will work hard.”

And if she has it her way, Sutherland hopes that hard work will someday lead her to Division 1 college hockey and possibly a spot on Team Canada.

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