by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
WHITEWATER REGION (Cobden) — Four hockey players are hoping their leadership skills and enthusiasm for the game will help their teammates improve their play and hopefully get into the championship series of the CCHL2.
Michael Karas is the captain of the Junior B Whitewater Kings while the assistant captains are Michael Hubers, Lawson Leclaire and Jonathan Ready.
Playing defence, Michael Karas hails from Denver, Colorado. This is the 20-year-old’s first time as a captain and his final year in Junior B. He played rep hockey growing up and played for one year for the Junior B team in Vermont before coming to the Kings.
Karas said, “It’s pretty amazing” to be a player with a new team. “The community is unbelievable. For the home opener we had 400-and-some fans.” He recalled there being less than 20 fans in the stands during the Junior B games in Vermont.
To ensure the community is proud of the Whitewater Kings, he said they need to win games.
“But, it’s also about the young fans who come to the rink,” he said. “Give them autographs after the games, talk to them. We need to bond with them.”
A young and skilled team, Karas said the players all have a good work ethic.
“As we build, as the season goes on, I believe we’ll be a pretty successful team,” he said “We will figure out what we need to do as a unit.”
Karas is hopeful of making it onto the Pembroke Lumber Kings team. He noted when he’s not practising with the Whitewater Kings, he’s working on the ice with the Lumber Kings.
“Sometimes I go to two practices a day,” he said.
When not on the ice, there’s always the off-ice workouts as well, he said.
Michael Hubers is an 18-year-old hockey player from Barry’s Bay. He played with the Valley Storm as well as the Aces from major peewee and up. This is his first year on a Junior B hockey team.
“It’s pretty cool,” to be on the first Whitewater Kings team, he said.
Hubers is hopeful the team will ‘click’ together and do well in the playoffs.
To get into the playoffs, Hubers said, “We’ll definitely have to put a lot of hard work in because we are a young team. We’ll have to put in more work than the other teams.”
Hubers is a part-time student at Madawaska Valley District High School in Barry’s Bay. Along with playing hockey and going to school, he also plays pick-up basketball and soccer and spends a lot of time working out.
Hubers said he is hopeful the Kings members will be role models for the young players who are watching them.
“I think if the way we play can influence them to want to go farther in hockey, that would be great,” he said.
As for having a favourite hockey team, Hubers admitted he’s a “game by game” person. However, he does hope the Ontario teams do well this season.
Lawson Leclaire, 17 and from Renfrew, mostly plays centre, but can play forward when needed.
As an assistant captain, Leclaire believes it’s important to keep the players energy high, keep everyone in a good mood.
“If someone makes a mistake, pump them up as much as you can after each shift,” he said. “Talk it up while you’re on the bench.
“Be a support for the guys.”
Leclaire believes he was appointed captain when the coaches recognized his positive attitude in the locker room and on ice, as well as his leadership skills.
He grew up playing house league hockey in Arnprior before moving to the rep teams and then moved to the Aces and U18 program.
“Hockey is part of my life,” he said. “I like the brotherhood you make with your teammates. It’s a lifestyle.”
Being a member of the inaugural Whitewater Kings, Leclaire said there is an “awesome atmosphere with a great group of guys.”
The Kings is a young team and the players have connected well, he said. The players are upbeat and the chemistry is starting to meld with each game they play, he added.
“It’s fun to come to the rink every day for practice,” Leclaire said.
There is great support from the community as the fans are in the stands for each home game.
“I hope to see you out to more games and we’ll try to make you proud,” Leclaire said.
Twenty-year-old Jonathan Ready was born in Pembroke, and grew up in Montreal and Renfrew. He played for the Aces, and two area Junior B teams – the Anrprior and the Renfrew Timberwolves.
This is Ready’s final year playing Junior B hockey and doesn’t see it in his future.
As an assistant captain, Ready believes he shows leadership and leads the way for the other players.
“If someone is doing something wrong, you let them know,” he said. “It’s either their attitude or something they aren’t doing right on the ice. I can tell them, ‘you’re not doing this right,’ without being rude,” he said. “Let them know in a positive way what they should be doing. (As an assistant captain), it doesn’t give you the authority to just harp on them.”
Ready accepted the assistant captain’s position because he believes he could “play a big role” and lead the brand new team with the experience he has gained as a former Junior B player.
“I know how things work in this league,” he said. “I can give them guidance as to how to do things and what not to do.”
A defenceman for the Whitewater Kings, he said, “For a brand new team and brand new players in this league, I find we’re actually doing pretty good.
“We’re not really struggling.
“From this point on and forward, we’re just going to get better. There is room for improvement.”
This team’s strength is the bond that has been created between the players, Ready said, noting some players knew each other from other leagues.
As for a weakness, Ready doesn’t believe they have any, except getting to know how each other plays on the ice.
Like his cohorts, Ready is hopeful of making the community proud of the Whitewater Kings.
“For sure winning every home game,” he said, adding, “Since there’s a lot of local talent on this team, that will definitely raise the bar.”
There are also many young hockey players, “and definitely it’s a great opportunity for us to be role models for those kids and show them guidance of what they can become in the future, or even better.”
While he isn’t currently working, Ready is waiting to be an ironworks apprentice.
