Whitehorse Bantam Mustangs crack U-16 B.C. Cup squad

A couple of Whitehorse Mustangs will be among the 160 hockey players competing at this year's B.C. U-16 Cup, which will be held in Salmon Arm in April.

A couple of Whitehorse Mustangs will be among the 160 hockey players competing at this year’s B.C. U-16 Cup, which will be held in Salmon Arm in April.

Bantam forwards Brett Roulston, 14, and Gibson Pearson, 15, were selected to the 20-person North East region team after showing off their skills at a recent B.C. High Performance U-16 camp.

The two will play with and against the best U-16 hockey players throughout the entire province in what is sure to be a competitive tournament.

“I am just real proud of both Brett and Gibson,” said Bantam Mustangs coach Dave Pearson. “It’s tantamount as to what’s going on up here and how people are developing, but really it was all up to them. They were responsible for making this, it had nothing to do with any of us physically. They are the ones that went there and earned their spot.”

The North East region will be one of eight teams at the U-16 cup. Other zones will include Kootenay, Okanagan, Fraser Valley, Fraser River Delta, Vancouver-Squamaish, Island and North West.

This is not the first time Yukon players have had success at this camp. In 2004, three players and one goaltender qualified for the U-16 B.C. Cup.

Three of the four are currently playing junior hockey, including players Ted Stephens and Drew Pettitt as well as goaltender Ian Perrier.

Roulston and Gibson weren’t the only Mustangs at this year’s high performance camp, which was open to any hockey players that were born in 1994.

Bantam Mustangs goaltender Patrick Soprovich and Bantam B Mustangs netminder Matthew Pollard also attended. The two didn’t end up making the team, but their play still impressed a number of people, including Dave, who also made the trip.

“Both of them fared very well,” he said. “There was 13 goalies at the camp and they only picked two.”

The camp was two days in total. It used a series of complex drills that tested not only the on-ice skill of the players, but also their hockey sense as well as intelligence.

Dave said both Roulston and Gibson stepped up at the high performance camp.

“The intensity that both Brett and Gibson bring is top notch,” he said. “These two guys really work hard when they are on the ice. They are tough to keep off the puck and they really want to play and it was easy to tell.”

He said it was a pleasant surprise finding out they made the team.

“I’m speaking as a father and a coach, the first moment I was overwhelmed by the amount of talent on the ice,” Dave said. “There was absolutely no slouch on the ice, every player there could have made this team quite easily and yeah it was a big surprise that they did so well, but it was a real good surprise.”

Gibson said this was the first he has attended a B.C. hockey camp and his only expectation was to do the best that he could.

“I felt very fortunate (to make the U-16 team) because I thought I might have a chance of doing it because I put all of my effort into it,” he said. “It’s just something really new and getting to play with all of the best of B.C. is going to probably be a good eye opener.”

Roulston said the high level of competition made it more rewarding to make the U-16 team.

“It definitely feels pretty good knowing I can play with those guys,” he said. “When you play with better people you usually get better and everything, so I will probably improve.”

He said he is really looking forward to taking part in the U-16 B.C. Cup in April and that qualifying for it has been the best thing he has ever achieved in hockey.

“I have worked so hard to get where I am right now, physical conditioning and all that,” Roulston said. “It’s really rewarding.”

Roulston said it will be nice to go to the U-16 B.C. Cup with fellow teammate and friend Gibson.

“It’s definitely good that I know someone on the team to go down with,” he said.

“You meet a lot of new people too though.”