Michel's Jr. Trappers Blog - All for one and one for all!

Jr. Trappers forward Michel Gamache is going to be giving us an up close and personal look at the North Bay Jr. A Trappers in his new blog. Michel will be sharing his stories with us weekly here on BayToday.ca. Enjoy it!

In simple terms, life is a lot easier in “midget” hockey where you play with friends and buddies that have also been your teammates for as long as you can remember. Life changes when you enter the “junior” level.

A “Jr. A” hockey team is usually composed of 16 to 20-year-old kids from all over the grid. The North Bay Trappers are a prime example. Our team houses kids all the way from Calgary, Alberta, to Boulder, Colorado, to Ville Marie, Québec.

Obviously, coming from all over the map like us, it’s not so simple to gel together. Different players coming from different leagues, different provinces, different hockey styles, different languages, and even different countries, it makes for a lot of different colored crayons inside the box. Metaphorically speaking, that is. It’s up to the players to figure out a way to all work together as a team.

It’s easy to recruit kids from here, and kids from there, bring them together, put them on a team, and say: “Alright! Now go and win us a championship.”

That is a lot easier said than done.

It takes a while for a solid connection to establish itself between players on a team. Often, some players tend to dislike one or more of their teammates. But what is quickly learned is that, in the world of “Jr. A” hockey, in the world of team sports, what truly matters is not your feuds with other players, but the crest in front of your jersey.

It’s finding that connection that is always the most difficult part. Especially when you have guys who - when they arrived on our team - could not speak a word of English. When guys arrive here from another country all together. When all those guys try to mix in with local kids, it makes for an interesting combination.

However, when that connection establishes itself, it’s then, that you see a team finally come together, on and off the ice. And when it comes, it’s there to stay. That connection will help drive any team to the championship.

Here’s to wishing you a great week, fellow readers.

Cheers!

Michel

If you any comments or suggestions please feel free to write to me at [email protected]