Whatever it takes.
Cochrane’s Dillon Dube knows that’s why he was chosen to join Team Alberta for the Western Hockey League’s Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup Oct. 31-Nov. 3 in Calgary. And he fit his unfamiliar role perfectly as Alberta went undefeated at the elite tournament for major-junior hockey prospects, defeating Team BC 4-2 in the Nov. 3 final to claim the cup at Father David Bauer Arena.
The 15-year-old centre carded two assists over four games at the tourney, in a role far removed from his go-to status with the Notre Dame Midget AAA Argos in Wilcox, Sask.
The Kelowna Rockets 2013 draft pick (first round, 21st overall) averaged just four shifts per period as a fourth-line faceoff specialist in the final against B.C.
“Everybody has their roles, and that was just one of mine,” he said with only a hint of discouragement in his voice. He leads Notre Dame scorers with five goals and 14 assists in 10 Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League games. He was used sparingly in the final Challenge Cup game, as Team Alberta head coach Serge Lajoie shortened the bench. “It’s one of my strengths, I win lots of faceoffs. That’s what I was out there for.”
But was the 5-foot-8, 155-pound Cochranite mis-cast in the Challenge Cup? Watching elated Team Alberta players pass the trophy around the ice following the win, one is compelled to say no.
“It’s definitely a step back from that,” Dube said when asked about his reduced role on Team Alberta compared to his top-line status at Notre Dame. “Coming here and not playing as much is a little bit . . . I thought it would be different. But I was happy, I took the role, accepted it and it came out good after that.”
It’s a role Lajoie knew Dube wasn’t familiar with, but would excel in.
“What we like are his high-speed skills. He brought a lot of energy and a lot of speed to the game,” said Lajoie. “We put him in a different role.
“What speaks to his character is he accepted the role whole-heartedly. The responsibilities we put on him were different than with his club team. He responded well and he gave us some good minutes.
“It was a lot of fun to work with him.”
When asked what Dube needs to do to increase his playing time at the elite tournament level, Lajoie responded: “I think he’s going to have to focus on finding that willingness to consistently go to the tough areas. To play what we call ‘heavy hockey.’ When he does it, he’s a highly-effective player.”
Dube admires the adversity Cochrane’s Mason Raymond – a seven-year National Hockey League veteran currently with the Toronto Maple Leafs – overcame in amateur hockey to succeed at the pro level. That, and Lajoie’s candid assessment, gives Dube a gear bag full of incentive and inspiration to reach that venerated “next level.”
“I didn’t have the best year in bantam first year, so I struggled a little bit there,” he recalled of his rookie season with the Airdrie Xtreme bantam AAA squad two seasons ago. “Then I looked at Mason Raymond. He was doing the same pretty much and he got to that next level and took a huge step in his game. I’m looking to do the same as he did. It would be nice. He’s a great player.”
Dube gets to work on that next step with another six weeks of Sask. Midget AAA play before his Argos come to Calgary for the Mac’s Major Midget world invitational hockey tournament over the Christmas break.
