Making a rep team of any kind is a great achievement for any young athlete — but Hope’s Dawson Pelletier has taken it another step this season, moving into the B.C. Major Midget League, an 11-team top tier division that is a short hop to the junior ranks.
In fact, the 16-year-old Hope Secondary student has donned a Chilliwack Chiefs jersey twice, as back-up goalie for two junior A league games, once last year and another on Oct. 6. In both cases, the warm-up was the only action he saw.
Last week, the Salmon Arm Silverbacks listed him as their AP, or ‘affiliated player,” meaning he’s third in line, if their back-up needs a back-up.
“I went to their [Salmon Arm’s] spring camp and their rookie camp,” said Pelletier, Monday evening, after getting home from the Hope Arena, where he had been helping coach four goalies, from novice to midget ages. “I work with Drew Martz, of Monster Goaltending, once a week in Hope,” he explained.
That’s about all the loose time he has, with a healthy load of academic courses and his practice and game schedule. “I’m taking biology, physics and English this semester and pre-calc, chemistry and socials next semester,” said the Grade 11 student.
Pelletier last played in Hope in his second year of atom rep, before moving on to rep hockey in Chilliwack, through pee wee, bantam and first year midget. This year, he was selected for the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the BCMML.
“All the A-1 reps get to try out for Major Midget,” he said. “We practice in Abbotsford on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, then have two games on the weekend.
“The other goalie, Alex Rolfe, usually plays on Saturdays and I play on Sundays,” said Pelletier, who describes himself as six feet tall and 160 pounds, currently. “In the Lower Mainland, we play a home game and an away game against the same team but when we go to Vancouver Island or the Interior, we’ll play a double-header.
“We get to take the bus to the Island and the Interior, which is nice.”
Even nicer: “If they’re going to the Interior, they can pick him up at the Flying J truck stop,” said dad, Brad Pelletier.
Brad owns Sixth Avenue Sports in Hope — where Dawson gets his skates sharpened the way he likes them. The price is right, too.
“I’m learning how to do it,” said Dawson. “I’ve practiced on some of the used skates but I haven’t done my own. I only trust my dad.”
The cost of gear likely keeps a lot of players out of the net.
“Just my pads, glove and blocker are about three grand. Skates are another thousand — and I went through a few pairs when I had a growth spurt. It’s pricey,” said Dawson, who secured his first shutout of the season on Sunday, versus the Vancouver NW Giants, who had been leading the league.
The win puts his Thunderbirds in top spot after the first eight games, with a 6-1-1 record.
“We have to be top-four in our league, to get to go to the Mac’s Tournament in Calgary, during the Christmas break. After that, if we come first in our league, we play against Alberta’s best team, to see who goes to the Telus Cup in Sudbury, Ont., April 23 to 29.”
Looking past that, Dawson said, “My goal I’m shooting for is to be on a junior A team next season. After that, university would be ideal.”
Thunderbirds’ coach, Peter Hay said Tuesday, “Dawson has steadily been improving and adjusting to the BCMM league. With his hard work each day and strong character he will only get better. The shutout against what was first place Giants was the result of all the hard work and is no surprise to us coaches. “He will only get better as the season goes on and the T Birds are very lucky to have him on the roster. We are lucky to have two great goalies who compete hard but also are great young men off the ice,” said Hay.
You can track the T-Birds’ progress at the website bchockey.net/MML/MML.aspx.