All In The Family:

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Editor’s Note: this article is part three of a 10-part series about this year’s crop of new Vernon Viper players.

All In The Family

Don Klepp

Adam Tambellini- Photo: Don Klepp

Oct 03-2011

Adam Tambellini’s email handle, “tambyfamily”, says it all. As a hockey player, he’s essentially joined the family business.

It all started with his grandfather, Adolph “Addie” Tambellini, whose prominent role for the 1961 World Champion Trail Smoke Eaters made him a household name in Canada. Addie passed away in 2004 but he lived to see his son Steve and his grandson Jeff play in the NHL.

Adam says that his famous grandfather “is a hero for me – he was a great man, and an inspiration for all of us.”

Adam also cites the influence of his father Steve and older brother Jeff: “They’ve shown me the route through minor hockey, junior, and college. It’s been inspirational to see Jeff progress through the stages. I’ve always wanted to be like him.”

Jeff, who is 10 years older than Adam, made his mark as BCHL scoring champion and MVP before spending three seasons with the Michigan Wolverines. This year, he left the Vancouver Canucks to play in Zurich, Switzerland where, says Adam, “he can have a full offensive role instead of battling for a job on the third or fourth lines.”

Adam also projects as an offensive threat, as evidenced by his AAA Midget stats – 22 goals and 25 assists in 33 games last year with the Edmonton SSAC Athletics. His most memorable game was in the final of the Mac’s Tournament at the Calgary Saddledome on January 1. He scored all his team’s goals in a 3-2 win over the Saskatoon Contacts.

To some extent, Adam plays like his older brother. “Both of us emphasize the offensive side rather than a physical style. We’re not really built for a lot of heavy checking, especially me. I’m 6 foot two, but only 170 pounds. I rely a lot on my vision and ability to read the play.”

He recognizes the need to be a responsible defensive player, though: “It’s one of the reasons I chose to come here. The Vipers have such a good defensive reputation. The emphasis is on defence first; you don’t want to be fishing the puck out of your net all the time.”

Sticking with the family theme, Adam is excited by the chance to play on a line with his cousin, Aaron Hadley. “Hads and I have been best buddies since we were little guys. Every summer we would hang out every day. Our family has a cabin at Christina Lake and Hads is just 30 minutes away in Castlegar, so we’re back and forth all the time.” This past summer the cousins trained at The Factory, a fitness facility owned by Jeff.

Adam scored his first BCHL goal in Salmon on September 24 and everyone expects him to bag a bunch more. However, he hasn’t set goals for goals and assists: “I just want to improve as a player, just develop as much as possible, and hopefully the team will win it all this year.”