The Cochrane Generals will be well represented during the Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) All-Star Saturday which is set to take place on Jan. 5 in Medicine Hat.
Generals head coach Kurtis Jones and his staff will coach a southern division all-stars team that features Gens team captain Brandon Aab, goaltender Erik Garber, forward Taylor Girard and defenceman Jordan Marks. Rookies Dean Olenyk and Patrick Forde, the top two leading scorers among rookie players in the league as well as the leaders in team scoring, have been selected to the south division's prospect team. It will be the second appearance for Aab and Marks with Girard and Garber both making their first all-star game.
The game features the best players from both the north and south division, with each team getting at least one representative. Okotoks has the largest group of players in the game with five, followed closely by Cochrane at four.
"It definitely feels rewarding," said goaltender Erik Garber on being selected to the south all-star team.
"Having this be my fourth year in the league and third with Cochrane, it does feel nice to be recognized as one of the top goaltenders and getting invited to Medicine Hat. I'm definitely really excited and it should be a great weekend."
The young goaltender out of Kirkland, Washington said that experience will be that much better with having a number of coaches and teammates along for the ride.
"Yeah, having the five other guys plus the coaching staff will make the trip a lot more enjoyable I think," he said.
"It'll be a fun getaway where we can all enjoy ourselves and have a good time. It will be nice to have some familiar faces around while also being around a lot of other guys from different teams who were also selected."
Olenyk, who is having a stellar season so far with the hometown Generals with 11 goals and 29 points in 21 games said wasn't expecting to get invited to take part in the weekend.
"It (the prospects game) is new to the league this year," Olenyk said. "I wasn't expecting the invite but I'm very excited to be a part of it."
Olenyk was named the captain of his team while Forde was also named an assistant captain.
"It's a big honour," he said. "I'm really looking forward to that opportunity."
This is only the third time the league has held an all-star game, with the last two taking place in Okotoks and Airdrie respectively. Garber believes the weekend is a great way to grow the league and the players who play in it.
"It's honestly a really great thing that they have brought to the league in my opinion," Garber said.
"Especially now having added a prospects game added this year. I definitely wish that they had this game when I first started out where you can showcase your skills and have a chance to promote yourself in front of coaches from higher levels."
"Having watched the all-star game the last two years, it's certainly a fun event to watch. It attracts more local families to come out and support their local junior 'B' team as well as getting to watch some of the best players from other teams. It's good hockey and it enables people to stay local rather than having to make a trip to Calgary (to watch the Flames or Hitmen) in order to catch a game."
While the weekend is meant to be a fun, showcasing event for the players, coaches and fans, Garber said he and his teammates would still like to play well and put on a show for the people of Medicine Hat.
"Yeah, it's all fun, but at the same time we were all chosen (to participate in all-star Saturday) for a reason," he said.
"I want to go out there and prove that I was the right choice for the game. I definitely want to make a strong impact on the game and prove myself out there."
