In a tournament such as the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) University Cup, there can be plenty of unfamiliarity for the teams.
With eight teams from three leagues all converging in one city for the national tournament, teams will have to play against someone they haven’t seen all season, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are at a disadvantage.
At the 2016 tournament, plenty of players squared off against former teammates and opponents from earlier in their hockey careers.
“I knew of a few for sure,” Carleton Ravens defender Jason Seed said of his former teammates.
“I’m always trying to keep tabs on my former teammates and see how they’re doing, especially guys that are playing at the same level as myself,” he said.
During the 2012-13 season, Seed played with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) on a team that also featured David Weckworth, Stephen Anderson, Stephen MacAulay, and Sebastien Auger.
Weckworth also plays defence with Seed at Carleton, while Auger now plays goal with the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes. Both Anderson from the University of New Brunswick (UNB) and MacAulay from Saint Mary’s University currently play in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS).
“The day after we arrived [in Halifax] I met up with MacAulay and Mitchell Maynard with Saint Mary’s and a couple other guys that go to Dalhousie that I played junior hockey with,” Seed said.
“Playing junior hockey with those guys, you make bonds and friendships—we got together and sat down for a couple hours and caught up. It was great seeing all the guys,” he said.
Mike Thomas—now playing with Anderson at UNB—played with Seed and MacAulay during the Sea Dogs’ run to a Memorial Cup victory in the 2011-12 season.
“It’s always nice when you can see a player that you played with from the past and it’s nice to be at the same tournament,” Thomas said.
“Seeing [Seed] and Stephen MacAulay as well, it’s nice because you’ve battled with them and it’s different now that you’re battling against them,” he said.
“I see Mike Thomas—obviously we play UNB during the year so every time we play them, I talk to him and stuff,” MacAulay said.
“Jason Seed and I are really good friends—we played in Saint John for two and a half years together and he’s an awesome, really down to earth guy,” he said. “When he got in on Wednesday [March 16], him and I and a couple other guys we played with went for coffee and it was nice to catch up with him and see how he’s doing. Any time I’m in Ottawa I look him up too, he’s just a great guy so it’s good to see him this weekend.”
The Saint John team that Seed and Weckworth played on also featured forward Jonathan Huberdeau and head coach Gerard Gallant. Both are currently with the Florida Panthers in the NHL.
Weckworth said the biggest thing he learned from them was “watching what it takes to make it to the next level.”
“Especially playing with Huberdeau, the amount of not only the talent that he has but also the work ethic and his attitude . . . Very humble and came to the rink even single day to work,” he said.
“You’d never even know the guy was a third overall pick in the NHL with the way he carried himself,” he said.
“Being on a team that has that kind of caliber of coaching and players, going to practice with those guys every day obviously made me a better hockey player in the end,” Seed said.
“For me personally I think it helped my career along and [I’m] very fortunate to be able to play there,” he said.
With the Ravens falling in a quadruple overtime thriller against Saskatchewan at the start of the tournament, Seed and Weckworth never had the chance to play against Thomas and MacAulay at the tournament.
“It would have been really fun to play against them, it’s unfortunate,” Weckworth said. “We get to play against Auger. He’s a great goalie, UQTR is really lucky to have him,” Weckworth said. “[It] Would have been fun to play against Anderson and MacAulay, even playing with Taylor Burke back in Gatineau—he’s with Saint Mary’s as well.”
“So a lot of familiar faces, it’s unfortunate that we didn’t get the chance to be against each other,” Weckworth said.
“We put aside those friendships and allegiances aside when you’re battling for a championship so I don’t think it would have been too weird,” MacAulay said of playing against former teammates. “We would have given each other a hug maybe in the handshake line.”
