Hadley Doubles Up On Weekly Hockey Exposure:

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Hadley doubles up on weekly hockey exposure

By Graeme Corbett - Vernon Morning Star

Published: October 28, 2011

A good week got even better Wednesday for Vernon Vipers’ power forward Aaron Hadley.

A day after he announced his NCAA Division 1 commitment to the Western Michigan Broncos, the 18-year-old Castlegar native learned he is one of three Vipers to advance to the 34-man Team Canada West selection camp, which runs Saturday to Tuesday in Langley.

Hadley, along with Vernon defencemen Brett Corkey and Luke Juha, will battle for a place on head coach Kent Lewis’s Canada West roster that will compete at the World Junior A Hockey Challenge (WJAC), Nov. 7-13 in Langley.

For a chance to wear the maple leaf, the trio will gladly endure the long haul to the Lower Mainland after the Vipers tangle with the host Prince George Spruce Kings tonight at the Coliseum.

Vernon, who iced Prince George 4-3 Sunday at Wesbild Centre, is second in the B.C. Hockey League’s Interior Conference at 9-3, while the Kings are fourth at 6-5-0-1.

“Anytime you put on that Canadian jersey it’s a great honour. The three of us are really excited about it,” said Hadley, who represented Team Pacific at the World Under 17 Championships in Timmins, Ont.

Having played with Canada East last year, Juha, a Mississauga, Ont. product, has a pretty good idea what it will take to earn a roster spot.

“You’ve just got to be consistent and play the way the coach wants you to play. They’re looking for role players and you’ve got to fill that role and do it well,” said Juha, one of four WJAC veterans trying out for Canada West. Rhett Holland (AJHL Okotoks Oilers), Sam Jardine (AJHL Camrose Kodiaks) and Travis St. Denis (Penticton Vees) are the other three.

For Corkey, who leads Viper d-men with eight points (all assists) in 12 games, this will be his first taste of international competition. The Calgary native has heard plenty of good feedback from his Alberta buddies John Lidgett (Kodiaks) and Holland, and from Viper grad Dylan Walchuk, who competed at 2010 Challenge last year in Penticton.

“They had nothing but good things to say about it. Just a great a opportunity to represent your region and play against teams from Europe. Just to have that crest on your jersey means a whole lot,” said Corkey.

Canada West will play in Group A, joined by Sweden and the U.S., while Canada East, Czech Republic and Russia will comprise Group B.

In total, there are 18 BCHLers, 10 AJHL players, four from the Manitoba league and two from Saskatchewan auditioning for Canada West spots.

Considering the exposure the WJAC will bring the organization, Vipers’ head coach Jason Williamson has no problem sending his players to Langley, even if it leaves him a bit shorthanded.

“I think they’ve all got a really good shot. Three good players from one team; it’s going to put us behind the eight ball, but that’s part of our job,” he said. “It’s tough with a 21-man roster, but we’ll get some younger guys in and tries some guys out.”

WJAC preliminary play will run until Wednesday, Nov. 9, with both semifinals taking place Friday, Nov. 11. The gold-medal game will be shown nationally on TSN Sunday, Nov. 13.

All other games can be seen live via webcast at hockeycanada.fasthockey.com.

Regarding Hadley’s scholarship, Williamson added: “Hads has had a good start, he’s been a leader for us and he brings a different element to the game where he’s a big power forward. You can only have so many smaller, skilled guys. You’re going to need some guys to create some space.”

With several major NCAA realignments in the works, Hadley will enter collegiate hockey at an interesting juncture.

The Big Ten Conference is preparing to join Division I in 2013-14, and will bring with it several teams from the WCHA and CCHA conferences. In turn, teams like Western Michigan, formerly of the CCHA, will shift to the newly formed National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which begins play in 2013-14. The eight-team NCHC will include Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, St. Cloud, North Dakota and Miami.

“Things are really looking up and it’s going to be a great program. They’re really moving up in the hockey NCAA world,” said Hadley. “They’ve got a great school, great coaches and they were really interested in me and I thought it would be a great fit.”

Another key factor in Hadley’s decision to join the Broncos was the chance to work with head coach Andy Murray, who split 10 years of NHL coaching duty between Los Angeles and St. Louis.

Hadley will join former Salmon Arm SilverBacks David Killip and netminder Kris Moore, along with former Alberni Valley Bulldogs’ keeper Frank Slubowski, on the Broncos.

SNAKE BITES: Penticton Vees’ forward Mario Lucia and defenceman Mike Reilly, both Minnesota natives, were named to Team U.S. for the WJAC...Prince George Spruce Kings’ forward Paul De Jersey has committed to the NCAA Providence College Friars. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound West Vancouver product is fourth in league scoring with 14-11-25 in 12 games.