Perhaps one of the most thrilling aspects of having watched the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team this year has been witnessing their constant progression.
The Carleton Ravens are a key team in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) program for their ability to learn from the mistakes made early in the season and rectify them. History has proven that when a team faces adversity and learning curves late in the season, problems can arise.
The Vancouver Canucks were a prime example of the 2011-12 season when they became plagued by injuries, causing a lack of production from their overused top lines.
Ravens head coach Marty Johnston has proven that he will award playing time to the player who shows respect.
Yes, that’s right, respect.
“He walked into the room in the beginning of the year and he looked each and every one of us in the eye and said: ‘This team is going to be bound together by respect,’” veteran Shane Bakker said.
It is important to not be misguided by the term respect. In context, respect means respecting yourself, your teammates, coaching staff, and your opponents. You have to respect that your opponent trains each and every day, they want to win, they want to hit harder, score more, and leave you in the dust. If you do not respect this you will not play.
Respecting the idea of what it takes to win is equally as important. Every practice and each shift that a Raven steps onto the ice they respect the notion of winning, they work and work until they cannot work anymore. You may be asking yourself, “when is it that they know they cannot work anymore?”
The answer is simple: When they have won.
“We spent last summer remembering our mistakes and knowing that our work ethic has to be constant,” Ravens centreman Jeff Hayes said.
There are few amateur teams that are ever given the opportunity to practice with professionals in their sport. The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey squad have been privileged to work side-by-side with some of the world’s most elite hockey players, including Daniel Alfredsson, Claude Giroux, Chris Neil, and Chris Phillips.
“Their presence is a stiff reminder as to what it takes to be the best,” Hayes said.
A season that started with the ‘respect’ speech, followed by a set of learning curves and losses, and the involvement of NHL players has set the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team on a path that every CIS team dreams of.
