Joey Payeur
Three members of last year’s Muskie boys’ hockey team seemed quite similar in regards to receiving a favourable evaluation from their possible next hockey employers.
Which direction each of the three is heading after the evaluation, however, is markedly different.
Forwards Tyler VanUden and Jarred Taylor, along with forward/defenceman Matt Cheetham, all had a chance to flash their skills at the rookie camp for the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues earlier this month.
For VanUden, it was a look at a road further ahead as he fully intends to return this fall for his Grade 12 season with the defending NorWOSSA champion Muskies.
“I thought that I had a good weekend,” said VanUden, who can’t join the MJHL until he is 18 years old as per regulations pertaining to out-of-province players.
“The coaches there told me they had a real interest in having me play there sometime in the future,” he noted.
VanUden also saw plenty of familiar faces other than those of his Muskie teammates.
“A lot of the players there I played against this past season when we had tournaments in Manitoba,” he explained.
“Everyone out there was pretty even talent-wise, but I think I held up well.”
VanUden will focus on getting bigger and stronger, as well as polishing his all-around game, over the next year so he can hold up better under the rigours of the very physical style the MJHL is known for.
“It’s important regardless of where I choose to play after high school that I up my game to be ready for the next level,” he stressed.
“If [the Blues] get back to me about it, I will probably go to the main [training] camp just to get the skate in.”
Taylor’s prospects for being a regular MJHL contributor are, in his mind, somewhat more immediate.
“Since I already did a full training camp with the [Fort Frances] Lakers, this rookie camp was easier in that I wasn’t nervous,” said Taylor, who also is about to head into Grade 12.
Taylor added he got encouraging feedback about his chances to make the Blues this fall.
“The coaches told me I stood out and was one of the best players out there, and was capable of being on the team this fall,” said the Muskies’ points leader from last season.
Taylor also will be age-eligible for the MJHL when the Blues’ main training camp opens Sept. 5.
“They said it was pretty easy to go down there and get enrolled in school,” he remarked.
“That really opened up my eyes,” Taylor admitted. “I didn’t think of myself as having had the best camp.”
Taylor also got advice to ramp up his off-ice training program.
“Let’s face it, I’m tiny compared to the guys they have out there,” he conceded.
That’s not an issue for the physically-imposing Cheetham, who spent significant parts of last season playing both up front and on the blueline—a versatility which served him well when it came to getting noticed by the Blues’ coaching staff.
“They said having that versatility makes it a lot easier to coach,” said Cheetham.
He also enjoyed the chance to good-naturedly dish out a bodycheck or two to his Muskie brethren, who happened to be on the opposing team for the intrasquad games that took place during camp.
“It was different at first, seeing the Muskie ‘M’ on the helmets coming down at you,” Cheetham admitted.
“Your first instinct is not to hit them,” he chuckled.
“But by the third game, you got used to it.”
Cheetham also has designs on working on his conditioning this off-season, but where that will results in him playing remains a mystery for now.
“I haven’t really decided yet,” Cheetham said about either returning to the Muskies for his Grade 12 campaign or taking a shot at cracking the Blues’ lineup.
“If I get the opportunity to go [to Winnipeg], I’ll consider it, for sure,” he remarked.
