Joey Payeur
The Muskie boys’ hockey team wants to rule supreme at the all-Ontarios this season.
But four members of the squad hope to be in a Manitoba state-of-mind once their business here is finished.
Forwards Jarred Taylor, Tyler VanUden, and Matt Cheetham, along with defenceman Carter Brown, attracted the attention of a scout from the Winnipeg Blues (Manitoba Junior Hockey League) during the recent John Taylor Piper Classic Tournament of Champions there.
Taylor and Brown made the tournament all-star team while VanUden and Cheetham were significant contributors to the Muskies’ title-winning effort.
“[The Blues’ scout] wanted us to get a feel for their program,” noted Taylor, who is part of the black-and-gold’s most potent forward line this season with VanUden and Chase McGuire.
“Now it’s a matter of going to the spring camp and see how we compete against the other players that will be there,” he remarked.
The Blues are the defending Turnbull Cup champions—the seventh time since 1982 that the team has captured the MJHL crown.
Winnipeg currently is second in the standings with a 33-13-6 record, trailing only the Portage Terriers (49-2-3)—the top team in the CJHL’s weekly top 20 rankings.
Cheetham already is anticipating some significant differences from high school in his attempt to crack the MJHL ranks.
“It will definitely be different not wearing a cage,” he noted.
“It’ll be a much higher pace and with a lot more intensity.”
Brown, meanwhile, called getting recruited “an honour” and didn’t expect to catch the eye of anyone on the hunt for MJHL talent.
“It’s a tough league,” he remarked. “There’s more men in that league than boys.
“We’ve got to be we willing to work hard to get there,” Brown stressed.
“If we do that, who knows?”
VanUden was happy not only for becoming a target for the Blues himself, but his teammates, as well.
“It’s good to see the guys get rewarded for all their hard work,” he remarked.
“It’s a pretty fast league and you’ve got to have the wheels to play there,” VanUden added.
“No doubt it’s a big step from high school to junior,” he conceded. “But if I put in the time and do the right things, I think I can do it.”
Muskie head coach Jamie Davis was pleased to see players from the program are garnering a closer look from those at the next level.
“It’s good for the guys,” he said, before echoing VanUden’s sentiments.
“You’ve got to put the time in to play there,” he warned.
“This is just the first step along the way.”
