Reece Forman had a glance at some of his teammates near the end of the Nipawin Hawks' awards banquet on March 22 to celebrate the end of the season, and there was a lot of emotion in the room. Especially coming from the 20-year-old guys, who came from all over to play on this team, and who played their last game of junior hockey earlier that month.
“It was the last time they were going to see each other,” Forman says. “It's tough to watch.”
As a 19-year-old, he understands, that will be him next year.
But for now, with summer approaching and a first Junior A hockey season in the rear-view mirror, Forman, along with teammate and fellow 100 Mile House hockey talent Brett Harris, can take some time to look back and reflect on the experience.
The pair has spent the last six months in Nipawin, a small town in northeast Saskatchewan, playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) as members of the Hawks. The club was eliminated three games to one in the best-of-five wild-card round by the Notre Dame Hounds on March 11.
In 52 games this season, Forman, a defenceman, scored four goals and two assists, and took 56 penalty minutes. Harris, a forward, played in 53 games and scored five goals and nine assists, while tallying 18 penalty minutes.
The experience exceeded expectations, even though it was tough to know what to expect exactly going into it.
“I didn't know where [Nipawin] was,” says Harris. “I didn't know much about the league, actually.”
The forward struggled with a back injury at the beginning of the year. He got more ice time as the season progressed, and found some of his scoring touch in the process.
At an SJHL Showcase, which consisted of more than 100 players from different teams playing exhibition games in front of college and university scouts earlier in the season, Harris, who recently turned 19, notched two goals and an assist in two games with other players his age.
At the time, Harris said earning a scholarship after junior hockey is his ultimate goal, so he was glad he played well and hopefully impressed the scouts in attendance.
“I'm really happy I went [to Nipawin]. The town was great. The team was great.”
Of the SJHL, Harris, who has two years junior hockey eligibility left, says it's a great league.
“It's really good hockey – it's fast-paced. You can't take a night off during any game. It was Junior A hockey, which is what I wanted to play.”
Above all, they explain, the boys learned they could compete at that level.
At the awards banquet, Forman won most improved player. He says he felt “really honoured.”
He shared it with Kris Spriggs, a forward from Edmonton.
“I shared it with probably my best friend out there,” Forman says of Spriggs. “It was cool to walk up there with him.”
Harris is working at a mill in Kamloops this summer. Forman is hoping to get a job there, too. They say they'll be training hard throughout the summer and plan on playing in Nipawin again next season. The Hawks were a young team this year. Forman and Harris are bringing that much more experience to the club when they return.
“Next year,” says Forman, “everyone in Nipawin is excited for how we're going to do.”