Tuesday was progressing like any other day of class at John Paul II Collegiate for Luke Reid.
That was until the Battlefords AAA Stars defenceman got a text from his mother and found out that he would be a part of Saskatchewan Under-16 team at the Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup in Calgary from Oct. 19-23.
“She sent her congratulations along with the roster and that’s pretty much when I knew that I had made the team,” Reid said.
“I was getting a bit nervous as I knew the team was going to be announced, but you can’t really worry about it too much. I just approached it like it was any other day.”
The 15-year-old from Warman underwent a lengthy process just to make it on to the 20-man roster.
Zone camps took place last season to determine the squads that competed at the SaskFirst Bantam Tournament in Regina back in April.
From there a group of 40 players competed in Wilcox for a week in August that helped to set the provincial team.
“I just tried to play my game as much as I could and listen to my coaches,” Reid said.
“My style of game is being a playmaker. I like to join the rush and create offence, along with being solid in my own end.”
Reid, who was drafted by the Victoria Royals in the second round of the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft in May, also believes playing in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League with the Stars as a bantam-aged player last season has helped tremendously with his development.
“It’s really pushed me to be a better player,” Reid said. “We have a great group of guys in the room and they really help me to mature not just as a hockey player, but as a person also.”
“He’s got a lot of confidence now after playing here as an underage player last year,” Stars head coach Jean Fauchon said. “When I was talking with the guys from the SHA (Saskatchewan Hockey Association) he was one of a few players at the camp that had that midget experience. He showed a lot of poise with the puck and was able to make things happen while he was in Wilcox.”
Reid had 15 points in 43 games for the Stars last year. He earned his first point of the 2016-17 season Sunday with an assist in a 3-1 home loss to the Swift Current Legionnaires.
In five editions of the tournament, Saskatchewan has yet to win the Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup, which features provincial squads from British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba.
This year’s team is headlined by three first round picks from this spring’s WHL draft in Logan Barlage (Swift Current Broncos), Kaedan Korczak (Kelowna Rockets) and Braden Schneider (Prince Albert).
“We just have to play as a team in order to be successful,” Reid said.
“We’ll need to move the puck well and not take any selfish penalties. We can’t do it all ourselves.”
