Players consider options after WHL

By Courtney Cox

For Kamloops Blazers defenseman Bronson Maschmeyer, the dream of one day playing professionally is at his fingertips. As a 20-year-old, the 2011-12 season will be his last in the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Six a.m. practices, dry land runs and the thrill of scoring goals fill the day-to-day lives of the young men who play for the Western Hockey League. Most have played the sport since they were five years old and for many the dream to play in the National Hockey league has driven them to succeed.

At times, this dream can cloud the reality that only a select few of them will go on to play professional hockey.

“I get inspired by my parents both in hockey and just in life because I see the work ethic they have, plus the lifestyle they live,” said Maschmeyer, who grew up in Bruderheim, Alberta, and was supported throughout his hockey ambitions by his parents and siblings. said.

“With hockey my Dad was always out on the outdoor rink he made for us. Trying to give us the skills we needed to succeed in  hockey ,  My mom was always there supporting us and driving us hours and hours to the rinks and I thank them both for what they have done and still do for me.”

The WHL emphasizes the importance of education to its players and is connected with many high schools and post-secondary institutions across the country. The Kamloops Blazers currently work with Valleyview Secondary and Thompson Rivers University. Maschmeyer is enrolled in English courses at TRU that are financed by the league, which also operates a scholarship program for its players.

WHL player development and recruitment manger Tyler Boldt said players are required to graduate high school in a timely manner and encouraged to take at least one post-secondary course during the hockey season.
 
“Most of our grads - between 80 and 90 per cent - access our WHL scholarships if they don’t go on to the NHL," Bolt said. “They automatically receive the scholarship; it’s automatically guaranteed to them upon graduation.”

But apart from that, players don't get much help if their professional ambitions don't come true.

“We don’t have any programs specifically, outside of our scholarship program, specifically to help our graduates with anything outside of their education,” Boldt said.

At the moment, Maschmeyer is focused on just one goal - making it as a professional player.

“As of right now I haven't heard anything from NHL teams but hopefully with a good team and personal year that I will have a chance to try out with an NHL club,” he said.

“After this year, like I said before, I hope I have a chance to play pro either in North America or in Europe somewhere. If not, then I will have to look into playing and going to university.”

Kamloops’ major junior team has nurtured NHL hockey stars such as Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla and many others. At age 21, ex- WHL star Peter Soberlak hoped to be counted among those famous names.

“I was drafted to the Edmonton Oilers and signed a four-year contract,”  Soberlak said. “But I had an injury late in my junior career that required surgery, and then that kind of followed me the whole time.”

Soberlak, like many other players, never let injuries or other setbacks mentally factor into his plan of hockey stardom. Hockey had been his life since he was a small child, anything else wouldn’t have felt normal to him.

“I don’t think it factored in up until I was faced with the reality of retiring, of ending my hockey career, that’s the only time I thought about it,”  Soberlak said.

At the age of 23, Soberlak hung up his skates and made his way back to Kamloops, where upon the advice of many of his family members he enrolled in university.

“I felt completely lost when I came back [to Kamloops], I thought, ’What I am going to do?’ But that’s where external influences help. You talk to parents or the people that you trust and they kept telling me go to school , go to school and so that’s what I did; I went right to school,” he said.

“They were just starting up the [WHL scholarship program]when I was in the WHL, but I was exempt from that because I had a pro contract; if you sign a pro contract, then they scrap that, I don’t know how that works now. So I signed a pro contract and don’t even end up having a long career because of an injury, I didn’t make any money that lasted and I didn’t have any WHL money so I had to put myself through university and graduate school. I was left $50,000 in the hole.”

Soberlak went on to get degrees in sociology and psychology and is currently working as a professor at Thompson Rivers University. As well as attaining degrees, Soberlak delved into the world of music during his twenties and now has his own professional band. Though life after hockey was hard for him, 25 years of devotion to a sport can leave one feeling not whole. The lessons that Soberlak learned while in the league helped him greatly in his future endeavours.

“Everything I gained in my life and been successful at was a result of playing hockey - that’s perseverance, that’s mental toughness, that’s dedication, work ethic, social skills, dealing with people. Everything that I learned has helped me become successful in my life.

“And then there is the other side: Everything that has hindered me was a result of that too. I managed to swing the teeter totter in the positive direction.”

Recently, the WHL set up an alumni association consisting of past players, coaches and managerial staff. The group not only participates in charity events but has high hopes of becoming a support system for players both past and present.

Life after the WHL can go in many different directions, whether  its to the NHL, European hockey league or heading to university. No matter where life leads players the skills instilled during their time in the league continue to affect who they become, both in positive and at times negative directions.

“I would like this year to be a winning season and ultimately win the Memorial Cup,” Maschmeyer said. “That would be the ultimate goal. My time in the WHL has been a great experience. I think playing in this league has taught me valuable life lessons, and let me play at the highest level of junior hockey.”

 For many players who don’t received NHL contracts, ending their careers in the WHL doesn’t mean the end of the road for their involvement in the world of hockey.

 “If you were to go through all of our staff rosters particularly in coaching and management, I would say it’s a very high number,” Boldt said.

“I think over 90 per cent are former players or former scouts have worked their way into coaching.”