Havre's
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January 2015
# 18 22 13 10 25 8 12 24 11 20 19 77 27 9 15 14 7 5 23 3 33 1 30
Name Karson Frisk Joshua Larson Tyler McMahon Matt Gamblin Blake Evennou Wyatt Fretheim Dustin Foran Tommy Kaddatz Dekker Gosnell Tyler Unekis Zac Flachman Brett LeBeau Brandon Huntington Jarod Ackerman Prokofil Vladykoskiy Tristan Klewsaat Casey Reamer Hampton Hastings Dawson Glover Mitch Tulk Kyle Provencher Ryan Lund Nolan Slager
GLACIER NATIONALS
www.havredailynews.com
2015 Nationals Roster Pos. F F F F D D F D F F F F F D D D F F F D F G G
Ht. 6-3 5-10 5-10 5-11 5-8 5-11 5-8 5-10 5-9 5-10 6-6 5-10 5-8 6-0 6-0 5-11 6-4 6-1 6-1 6-0 6-0 6-0 6-3
Wt. 190 170 170 180 165 175 155 170 170 155 240 185 150 175 203 170 155 170 185 165 170 195 185
Home Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Zeeland, Michigan Cranberry Portage, Manitoba Macomb, Michigan Hardwood, North Dakota Clinton Township, Michigan Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix, Arizona Antioch, Illinois Harrisburg, South Dakota Bloomfield Township, Michigan Havre, Montana Westminster, Colorado St. Petersburg, Russia Larkspar, Colorado Consul, Sasketchewan Atlanta, Georgia Anchorage, Alaska Phoenix, Arizona Naperville, Illinois Anchorage, Alaska Zeeland, Michigan
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Havre's
January 2015
GLACIER NATIONALS
www.havredailynews.com
Nationals making progress in Havre The move to Havre from Whitefish is working out well for Glacier and the Havre community Chris Peterson
Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com A little less than a year ago, Glacier Nationals’ general manager Butch Kowalka found himself in some trouble. His team, which played in Whitefish, had its ice taken away and suddenly he found himself in need of a new home for his hockey team. That’s when he thought of Havre. Now, almost a year later, the marriage between Havre, which loves its hockey, and the Nationals is off to a promising start. “I thought Havre was a hidden gem,” Kowalka said. “I was doing some looking around for someone else to get a team and then suddenly I needed a new place. So then I called the Havre Youth Hockey Association and we got a deal done in three days. I thought Havre was a great place. The facilities are great, the locker rooms are fantastic, Montana State University-Northern, a fouryear school is something we never had before and on top of that, the community is really passionate about hockey.” Fast forward 10 months and the Nationals have now become a regular part of the sports scene here in Havre. Their home games, which are held mostly Friday and Saturday nights, bring in hundreds of Havre sports fans, and it’s something Kowalka hopes becomes even more popular as time goes on. “Obviously we want to get the community as involved as we can,” Kowalka said. “Our boys also really love playing in front of a big crowd. It makes it really fun when you have a rowdy kind of atmosphere.” One player with a unique perspective on the move from Whitefish to Havre is Nation-
als forward Karson Frisk, who is the only player who followed Kowalka and the team to Havre. Frisk, 20, has shined this season for the Nationals, particularly of late. He currently leads the team in goals with 12 and is hoping to finish the season on a strong note to attract college recruiters. “I think the transition was hard for this team,” Frisk said. “But when I got to Havre, I was welcomed here. And people are very nice, they come out and support us and they support the youth hockey team. “I think it’s pretty much the same; we might have had more fans in Whitefish,” he added when asked to compare the two towns. “But hopefully as the years go by, we will get even more people to come up to the Havre Ice Dome.” When it came time for the Nationals to find a new home, Havre was a good location for a number of reasons, but one of the main ones was the Havre Ice Dome. The Ice Dome has been home to the Havre Ice Hawks and youth hockey for years but with the arrival of the Nationals, the venue got some upgrades. The new features include locker rooms and Internet access, which is needed because Glacier is required by the North American Tier 3 Hockey League to stream every game live online. The Nationals’ presence has also helped bring in additional revenue for Havre Youth Hockey that did not previously exist. The extra money comes from a variety of revenue streams that consist of concessions, a 20 percent share of beer sales and the fee Glacier pays to use the ice, which is substantial. “I think our ice bill is probably going to be around $24,000,” Kowalka said. “So I think it’s been good for Havre Youth Hockey. I don’t know all the final numbers but I know they have made over $1,500 on beer sales alone and have had nights where they make about that much just on concessions alone. So it’s been a good thing for everybody.”
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January 2015
GLACIER NATIONALS
www.havredailynews.com
Progress: Nationals improving with every game ■ From Page 2 A big part of building a successful junior hockey program has to do with not only recruiting players but also getting them to want to come back the following season. “When I grew up and played for a junior team, I would have never thought of playing for another junior team,” Kowalka said. “But now, there are so many teams around and there could be even more teams. So you just try to put your best foot forward. But getting those kids back is a testament of your program. “But the guys really like it here,” he added. “They like the town, they like the facilities, the like the schools and that’s the best that you can hope for.” While Frisk followed Kowalka, one player on the current roster who didn’t was Joshua Larson, who joined the team shortly after the season started and has turned into one of its most electrifying offensive players. He has 11 goals on the year, which puts him right behind Frisk for the team lead. “I have had a lot of fun, it’s been great being around all the guys and I really like Havre,” Larson said. “I had some friends on the team and that’s how I heard about the Nationals and it sounded like a good team, and I really like playing here. The people come out and support us. And it’s been fun to get to know the youth hockey guys. We joke around with them, but we also try to help them out
as much as we can.” Larson, who also has aspirations of playing at a higher level of junior hockey or in college, sounds committed to playing another season for the Nationals in Havre as he tries to build his skill set even further. “I think I am pretty close and that I can get there,” Larson said. “I think I just need to keep getting better. I think I have a year or two left, so I just want to work hard this summer, get stronger and come back and have a better season than the year before.” While the Nationals haven’t had a ton of success in terms of winning games this season with a 6-23-5 record, their development on the ice as the season has gone on is clear as day. They are a much more competitive team than they were to open the season, and Kowalka hopes a strong finish will not only build positive momentum going forward but also help Glacier become a more permanent fixture in Havre sports. “We have a lot of home games over the last two months here, so it’s important for us to finish the season strong,” Kowalka said. “We really want to continue to build that support among the community. It has already been great. We have more sponsors than we ever did before, but we want to take that even further, and finishing the season strong will only help us do that and set us up for more success in the future.”
Havre Daily News/File Photo
Former Havre Ice Hawk Brandon Huntington is now part of the Glacier Nationals, who have had an instant impact on the Havre hockey community since they moved from Whitefish.
■ See Progress Page 7 Havre Daily News/Jake Shane
Tommy Kaddatz, right, and the Glacier Nationals relocated from Whitefish to Havre this past summer. The Nationals’ first season of Frontier Division hockey in Havre is going well, on and off the ice. Glacier has six home games remaining on its 2014-15 schedule.
Nationals Remaining Home Schedule Feb. 6 Feb. 13 Feb. 14 Feb. 20 Feb. 22 Feb. 28
vs Great Falls Americans, 8 p.m. vs Bozeman Ice Dogs, 8 p.m. vs Bozeman Ice Dogs, 7:30 p.m. vs Billings Bulls, 8 p.m. vs Helena Bighorns, 12:15 p.m. vs Billings Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Havre Daily News/Jake Shane
Glacier's Dawson Glover, right, goes after a puck during a recent Frontier Division hockey game at the Havre Ice Dome.
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Havre's
January 2015
GLACIER NATIONALS
www.havredailynews.com
Junior hockey: Glacier players live together and among the Havre community while they're here ■ From Page 5 no aspirations of playing college or even professional hockey one day. Yet, it’s one thing for 19- or 20-year-olds such as Lubin or Lund to move away from home. That’s the time most kids go to college or go off and start a career. It’s normal. But, it’s quite another for someone like Blake Evennou, who is just 16 years old and the youngest member of the team, to leave his home and his family in pursuit of his dreams on the ice. Evennou, who is from Macomb, Michigan, has an even busier schedule than many of his teammates due to the fact that he has to attend classes at Havre High School, while also meeting his commitments on the ice. “It makes it tougher, that’s for sure,” Evennou said. “A lot of the guys just play hockey, so that’s all they have to worry about. That would be better obviously, but I am just going to do my best in school and hockey and see where that takes me.” Evennou is also one of few Nationals players that lives with a host family here in Havre, which is mostly due to his age. But even living with a family, he has more responsibility than your average 16-year-old kid as he balances school, hockey and home life. “It has been a blast so far, playing with 19- and 20-year-olds and kind of living on my own. It’s been an adjustment but I have really enjoyed it,” Evennou said. “I don’t do as much stuff at home as I do with my
billet family. I definitely clean a lot more, do dishes and things I wouldn’t normally do at home, but you feel more obligated to take care of things like that — but it’s been good.” Each and every player who suits up for the Nationals has their own background and their own story but they are united by one thing — their love of hockey and their hope that it can take them along a path toward bigger and better things in life. During that journey players learn about life. They learn to become men, they learn responsibility, learn to cook and clean and buy essential things like toilet paper, tooth paste and food. But beyond all that, it’s still about hockey, which is why 25 players who never heard of Havre, Montana, now call it home.
Havre Daily News/Jake Shane
Matt Gamblin, right, came from his native Manitoba to Havre to further his hockey career. Playing junior hockey is a way for youths all over the world to get noticed by professional scouts and college hockey programs. And that's the goal for players like Gamblin. While they enjoy their time in places like Havre, playing the game they love, their hope is to move on in the world of competitive hockey one day.
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Havre's
January 2015
GLACIER NATIONALS
www.havredailynews.com
Nationals and Havre seem to be a perfect fit From the Fringe... George Ferguson Sports Editor
Havre loves sports. There’s no question that Havre is a sportscrazy town. I’ve lived here all my life, yet I’ve been to plenty of other places, and it when it comes to people just loving sports, it’s tough to find anywhere better than Havre. However, Havre is small, and when it comes to our community, our sports fans get stretched to the limits as far as support for all the different teams we have here. When ideas of new sports, or expansion come around, my first thought is always: How much support will a new sport or new team get when we already have so much to see and do here? With the arrival of the Glacier Nationals junior hockey franchise, that question has been answered at least once. The Nationals have proved to be the perfect new sports team for Havre, and the community is doing an excellent job of supporting it so far. It’s taken time, but hockey has really grown in Havre. I remember the birth of youth hockey in Havre, first at the rink on 5th Avenue, then when it moved indoors to the fairgrounds. Yes, I remember those days well. And at the time, I wasn’t certain hockey would really ever take off here, even though we’re just a scant 40 miles from the Canadian border, and right across
that imaginary line, hockey is bigger than anything. But, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The eventual formation of the Havre Youth Hockey Association, and the construction of the Havre Ice Dome, led to hockey becoming as popular in this town as anything else. Now, so many years later, since those freezing cold nights at the outdoor rink across from Taco John’s, hockey is a stable and important part of our sports community. Because of this, when I was first alerted to the fact that the Glacier Nationals were moving to Havre from Whitefish, I had absolutely no doubt it would work. I knew just how important hockey is to this town, and the addition of junior hockey would only make the sport grow more and become even more important to this community. And it’s already so visible. The Nationals are having a profound impact on the local hockey scene. I know fans are enjoying seeing a higher level of hockey being played nightly this winter. I know the Havre Ice Dome has benefitted from having a professional organization in town, and I know the Nationals will only serve to make the Havre Youth Hockey Association grow by leaps and bounds. Here’s, perhaps, the biggest impact the Nationals have had — and will continue to have on our community — more kids in our community. The Nationals players have been an awesome addition to our town, both at Havre High School and throughout the community. I know community service is impor-
tant to junior hockey, and the Nationals being here will benefit the community in a variety of ways, off the ice. Yes, in the end, a junior hockey team turned out to be the perfect addition to the popular sports family in Havre. It’s a perfect fit
and at exactly the right time. And whether you were a hockey fan before the Nationals arrived, or not, you should try and become one now, because the Nationals are an exciting new part of our community and, hopefully, they will be for years to come.
Havre Daily News/File Photo
The Glacier Nationals junior hockey team has quickly become an exciting part of the Havre sports landscape, on and off the ice.
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Havre's
January 2015
GLACIER NATIONALS
www.havredailynews.com
Junior hockey is a way of life they have a love of hockey and a hope that it can take them along a path toward bigger and better things in life Chris Peterson
Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Havre has always been a community that supports hockey in a big way. The Havre Ice Hawks hockey program has enjoyed many years of success, but this year, Havre has welcomed a new kind of hockey in town — junior hockey. The name junior hockey can sometimes be misleading. The word junior tends to make people think of young kids and while there are some youngsters on the Glacier Nationals junior hockey team that relocated to Havre this past summer, most of the roster is comprised of 18- to 20-year-old players who are looking to advance their hockey career to the college or professional level. That is, in essence, what junior hockey is all about. But for the Glacier Nationals and junior hockey programs just like it all around the country, their mission is to develop these players not just on the ice, but also off the ice, helping them to become adults, college students and, in rare cases, professional hockey players. “I spend a lot of my time talking to scouts and colleges, trying to get these guys scholarships or moved up to the next level,” former Nationals head coach Rob Powell said. Powell recently took a leave of absence from the squad. “That’s our goal. But we also are trying to teach these guys how to be men. For a lot of them, this is the first time that they have been away from home. They have to learn how to be independent and responsible, and I think it’s important that they learn those things on their own. “Anymore, colleges are really interested in junior hockey players that are 19 and 20 years old,” he added. “The colleges have found that these players have already been away from home and have already went through that maturing process, so they are much more likely to stick with it and much less likely to quit or leave the program.” The Nationals play in the North American Tier 3 Hockey League, which is one of the top pay for play junior hockey leagues in the country. The league is also affiliated with the North American Hockey League, which is the only Tier 2 junior hockey league in the country affiliated with USA Hockey. The partnership with the NAHL is critical for the Nationals and the NA3HL because it gives teams like the Nationals the ability to send their players directly into the league through promotion. Essentially, the NA3HL works as a minor league of sorts for the NAHL and once a player advances to the Tier 2 level, he no longer has to pay to play. Not only does the NAHL cover the cost of player expenses, it gives players a truly genuine opportunity to find their way into
the National Hockey League or get offered scholarships from top NCAA universities. Just last season, the NAHL had 99 alumnus who were playing in the NHL and many were drafted directly from the NAHL. So while, it may seem like a long shot for some of the Nationals’ players to reach the promise land of professional hockey, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
■ See Junior hockey Page 5
Havre Daily News/File Photo
Glacier goalie Ryan Lund came to the Nationals, and to junior hockey not only to advance his hockey skills, but also to advance his career and his future. Lund, a A 20-year-old Anchorage, Alaska native, has been one of the top players for the Nationals this season and, thanks to a recent string of strong playing, he is starting to garner interest from colleges, which was his main goal when he came to Havre. Lund and the Nationals are in their first season as a Havre franchise. So far, things have gone well for the players and for the franchise.
5
Havre's
January 2015
GLACIER NATIONALS
www.havredailynews.com
Junior hockey: Teams like the Nationals attract players from all over as they try to climb the ladder ■ From Page 5 One player who is hoping to have some type of hockey career beyond the junior level is Glacier goaltender Ryan Lund. A 20-year-old Anchorage, Alaska native, Lund has been one of the top players for the Nationals this season and, thanks to a recent string of strong playing, he is starting to garner interest from colleges, which was his main goal when he came to Havre to play for the Nationals. “I love playing hockey and I have really enjoyed being part of this community. Havre really supports us and that has been a great thing to be a part of,” Lund said. “Hopefully, we can win some more games and bring some pride to the community. But my goal has been to play college hockey. I have had four or five that have shown interest in me since I have been here. I won’t say who they are, but two or three have shown a real strong interest in me, and I’m really excited about that, so hopefully I can keep playing well and keep that interest coming.” Lund, who is the oldest player on the Nationals roster, credits coach Powell for helping him in his quest to play college hockey, but their relationship goes beyond that of player and coach because the two are also roommates. That brings to light another unique part of playing junior hockey, and that is getting out and living on your own. But with hockey taking up such a huge part of their lives, with games, practice, weight lifting, film and other responsibilities, few players are able to find time to work part-time jobs, so that means they live with the coach, with general manager Butch Kowalka, with each other or with billet families, who get a monthly stipend from the team to feed and house the players. “I definitely do most of the cooking,” Powell said. “And I have to get on them a little bit to clean their rooms and stuff like that. But for the most part, I leave it up to them. I don’t go wake them up if we have a meeting or practice. I tell them what time they need to be there and maybe remind them before they go to bed, but other than that they take care of things themselves, which I think is important.” “Living with the coach comes with a different responsibility,” Lund said. “You definitely have to be home by the curfew on game night and midnight curfew during the week. You definitely have to live within the rules when the coach lives in the room right next to yours.” While Lund lives with coach Powell, others on the team have their own living arrangements such as Gavin Lubin, 19, who like Lund is from Anchorage, Alaska, and Matt Gamblin, 20, who is from the town of Cranberry Portage, Canada, which has a population of 572. Gamblin, who is of Native American heritage, lives with Lubin and two other teammates in a studio apartment, and while they are probably happy to not be living with their head coach, living with three other hockey players in a small apartment comes with its own challenges. “I love it. I live with a great group of guys,” Gamblin said. “But our days are very busy. We are always cleaning up because it
Havre Daily News/File Photo
Glacier's Blake Evennou, right, slaps a shot during a Frontier Division junior hockey game back in the fall at the Havre Ice Dome. Evennou is part of a Nationals’ roster full of young players trying to work their way up the junior hockey ranks, with their ultimate goal being to catch on with a college or professional team some day. The Nationals, which moved to Havre last summer, house plenty of talent and Evennou is one of those talents. gets messy with four guys in a studio apartment and then doing all the stuff we do with hockey. But I have been away from home playing junior hockey since I was 16. I didn’t want to work in the winter, it gets pretty cold where I’m from in the winter and I decided I’d rather play hockey.” Like Gamblin, Lubin is motivated to play
hockey because he loves it, but he is also committed to junior hockey because he has aspirations of advancing his hockey career and has his sights sets on playing college hockey. “I want to keep going and get to the next level,” Lubin said. “I want to play college hockey and make my family proud and do
what I can to get to that next level.” The motivation to move up exists in one way or another with every player on the Nationals roster. No one would move away from their family and dedicate their life to hockey if they didn’t love it and if they had
■ See Junior hockey Page 6
4
Havre's
January 2015
GLACIER NATIONALS
www.havredailynews.com
Junior hockey is a way of life they have a love of hockey and a hope that it can take them along a path toward bigger and better things in life Chris Peterson
Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Havre has always been a community that supports hockey in a big way. The Havre Ice Hawks hockey program has enjoyed many years of success, but this year, Havre has welcomed a new kind of hockey in town — junior hockey. The name junior hockey can sometimes be misleading. The word junior tends to make people think of young kids and while there are some youngsters on the Glacier Nationals junior hockey team that relocated to Havre this past summer, most of the roster is comprised of 18- to 20-year-old players who are looking to advance their hockey career to the college or professional level. That is, in essence, what junior hockey is all about. But for the Glacier Nationals and junior hockey programs just like it all around the country, their mission is to develop these players not just on the ice, but also off the ice, helping them to become adults, college students and, in rare cases, professional hockey players. “I spend a lot of my time talking to scouts and colleges, trying to get these guys scholarships or moved up to the next level,” former Nationals head coach Rob Powell said. Powell recently took a leave of absence from the squad. “That’s our goal. But we also are trying to teach these guys how to be men. For a lot of them, this is the first time that they have been away from home. They have to learn how to be independent and responsible, and I think it’s important that they learn those things on their own. “Anymore, colleges are really interested in junior hockey players that are 19 and 20 years old,” he added. “The colleges have found that these players have already been away from home and have already went through that maturing process, so they are much more likely to stick with it and much less likely to quit or leave the program.” The Nationals play in the North American Tier 3 Hockey League, which is one of the top pay for play junior hockey leagues in the country. The league is also affiliated with the North American Hockey League, which is the only Tier 2 junior hockey league in the country affiliated with USA Hockey. The partnership with the NAHL is critical for the Nationals and the NA3HL because it gives teams like the Nationals the ability to send their players directly into the league through promotion. Essentially, the NA3HL works as a minor league of sorts for the NAHL and once a player advances to the Tier 2 level, he no longer has to pay to play. Not only does the NAHL cover the cost of player expenses, it gives players a truly genuine opportunity to find their way into
the National Hockey League or get offered scholarships from top NCAA universities. Just last season, the NAHL had 99 alumnus who were playing in the NHL and many were drafted directly from the NAHL. So while, it may seem like a long shot for some of the Nationals’ players to reach the promise land of professional hockey, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
■ See Junior hockey Page 5
Havre Daily News/File Photo
Glacier goalie Ryan Lund came to the Nationals, and to junior hockey not only to advance his hockey skills, but also to advance his career and his future. Lund, a A 20-year-old Anchorage, Alaska native, has been one of the top players for the Nationals this season and, thanks to a recent string of strong playing, he is starting to garner interest from colleges, which was his main goal when he came to Havre. Lund and the Nationals are in their first season as a Havre franchise. So far, things have gone well for the players and for the franchise.
5
Havre's
January 2015
GLACIER NATIONALS
www.havredailynews.com
Junior hockey: Teams like the Nationals attract players from all over as they try to climb the ladder ■ From Page 5 One player who is hoping to have some type of hockey career beyond the junior level is Glacier goaltender Ryan Lund. A 20-year-old Anchorage, Alaska native, Lund has been one of the top players for the Nationals this season and, thanks to a recent string of strong playing, he is starting to garner interest from colleges, which was his main goal when he came to Havre to play for the Nationals. “I love playing hockey and I have really enjoyed being part of this community. Havre really supports us and that has been a great thing to be a part of,” Lund said. “Hopefully, we can win some more games and bring some pride to the community. But my goal has been to play college hockey. I have had four or five that have shown interest in me since I have been here. I won’t say who they are, but two or three have shown a real strong interest in me, and I’m really excited about that, so hopefully I can keep playing well and keep that interest coming.” Lund, who is the oldest player on the Nationals roster, credits coach Powell for helping him in his quest to play college hockey, but their relationship goes beyond that of player and coach because the two are also roommates. That brings to light another unique part of playing junior hockey, and that is getting out and living on your own. But with hockey taking up such a huge part of their lives, with games, practice, weight lifting, film and other responsibilities, few players are able to find time to work part-time jobs, so that means they live with the coach, with general manager Butch Kowalka, with each other or with billet families, who get a monthly stipend from the team to feed and house the players. “I definitely do most of the cooking,” Powell said. “And I have to get on them a little bit to clean their rooms and stuff like that. But for the most part, I leave it up to them. I don’t go wake them up if we have a meeting or practice. I tell them what time they need to be there and maybe remind them before they go to bed, but other than that they take care of things themselves, which I think is important.” “Living with the coach comes with a different responsibility,” Lund said. “You definitely have to be home by the curfew on game night and midnight curfew during the week. You definitely have to live within the rules when the coach lives in the room right next to yours.” While Lund lives with coach Powell, others on the team have their own living arrangements such as Gavin Lubin, 19, who like Lund is from Anchorage, Alaska, and Matt Gamblin, 20, who is from the town of Cranberry Portage, Canada, which has a population of 572. Gamblin, who is of Native American heritage, lives with Lubin and two other teammates in a studio apartment, and while they are probably happy to not be living with their head coach, living with three other hockey players in a small apartment comes with its own challenges. “I love it. I live with a great group of guys,” Gamblin said. “But our days are very busy. We are always cleaning up because it
Havre Daily News/File Photo
Glacier's Blake Evennou, right, slaps a shot during a Frontier Division junior hockey game back in the fall at the Havre Ice Dome. Evennou is part of a Nationals’ roster full of young players trying to work their way up the junior hockey ranks, with their ultimate goal being to catch on with a college or professional team some day. The Nationals, which moved to Havre last summer, house plenty of talent and Evennou is one of those talents. gets messy with four guys in a studio apartment and then doing all the stuff we do with hockey. But I have been away from home playing junior hockey since I was 16. I didn’t want to work in the winter, it gets pretty cold where I’m from in the winter and I decided I’d rather play hockey.” Like Gamblin, Lubin is motivated to play
hockey because he loves it, but he is also committed to junior hockey because he has aspirations of advancing his hockey career and has his sights sets on playing college hockey. “I want to keep going and get to the next level,” Lubin said. “I want to play college hockey and make my family proud and do
what I can to get to that next level.” The motivation to move up exists in one way or another with every player on the Nationals roster. No one would move away from their family and dedicate their life to hockey if they didn’t love it and if they had
■ See Junior hockey Page 6
6
Havre's
January 2015
GLACIER NATIONALS
www.havredailynews.com
Junior hockey: Glacier players live together and among the Havre community while they're here ■ From Page 5 no aspirations of playing college or even professional hockey one day. Yet, it’s one thing for 19- or 20-year-olds such as Lubin or Lund to move away from home. That’s the time most kids go to college or go off and start a career. It’s normal. But, it’s quite another for someone like Blake Evennou, who is just 16 years old and the youngest member of the team, to leave his home and his family in pursuit of his dreams on the ice. Evennou, who is from Macomb, Michigan, has an even busier schedule than many of his teammates due to the fact that he has to attend classes at Havre High School, while also meeting his commitments on the ice. “It makes it tougher, that’s for sure,” Evennou said. “A lot of the guys just play hockey, so that’s all they have to worry about. That would be better obviously, but I am just going to do my best in school and hockey and see where that takes me.” Evennou is also one of few Nationals players that lives with a host family here in Havre, which is mostly due to his age. But even living with a family, he has more responsibility than your average 16-year-old kid as he balances school, hockey and home life. “It has been a blast so far, playing with 19- and 20-year-olds and kind of living on my own. It’s been an adjustment but I have really enjoyed it,” Evennou said. “I don’t do as much stuff at home as I do with my
billet family. I definitely clean a lot more, do dishes and things I wouldn’t normally do at home, but you feel more obligated to take care of things like that — but it’s been good.” Each and every player who suits up for the Nationals has their own background and their own story but they are united by one thing — their love of hockey and their hope that it can take them along a path toward bigger and better things in life. During that journey players learn about life. They learn to become men, they learn responsibility, learn to cook and clean and buy essential things like toilet paper, tooth paste and food. But beyond all that, it’s still about hockey, which is why 25 players who never heard of Havre, Montana, now call it home.
Havre Daily News/Jake Shane
Matt Gamblin, right, came from his native Manitoba to Havre to further his hockey career. Playing junior hockey is a way for youths all over the world to get noticed by professional scouts and college hockey programs. And that's the goal for players like Gamblin. While they enjoy their time in places like Havre, playing the game they love, their hope is to move on in the world of competitive hockey one day.
3
Havre's
January 2015
GLACIER NATIONALS
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Nationals and Havre seem to be a perfect fit From the Fringe... George Ferguson Sports Editor
Havre loves sports. There’s no question that Havre is a sportscrazy town. I’ve lived here all my life, yet I’ve been to plenty of other places, and it when it comes to people just loving sports, it’s tough to find anywhere better than Havre. However, Havre is small, and when it comes to our community, our sports fans get stretched to the limits as far as support for all the different teams we have here. When ideas of new sports, or expansion come around, my first thought is always: How much support will a new sport or new team get when we already have so much to see and do here? With the arrival of the Glacier Nationals junior hockey franchise, that question has been answered at least once. The Nationals have proved to be the perfect new sports team for Havre, and the community is doing an excellent job of supporting it so far. It’s taken time, but hockey has really grown in Havre. I remember the birth of youth hockey in Havre, first at the rink on 5th Avenue, then when it moved indoors to the fairgrounds. Yes, I remember those days well. And at the time, I wasn’t certain hockey would really ever take off here, even though we’re just a scant 40 miles from the Canadian border, and right across
that imaginary line, hockey is bigger than anything. But, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The eventual formation of the Havre Youth Hockey Association, and the construction of the Havre Ice Dome, led to hockey becoming as popular in this town as anything else. Now, so many years later, since those freezing cold nights at the outdoor rink across from Taco John’s, hockey is a stable and important part of our sports community. Because of this, when I was first alerted to the fact that the Glacier Nationals were moving to Havre from Whitefish, I had absolutely no doubt it would work. I knew just how important hockey is to this town, and the addition of junior hockey would only make the sport grow more and become even more important to this community. And it’s already so visible. The Nationals are having a profound impact on the local hockey scene. I know fans are enjoying seeing a higher level of hockey being played nightly this winter. I know the Havre Ice Dome has benefitted from having a professional organization in town, and I know the Nationals will only serve to make the Havre Youth Hockey Association grow by leaps and bounds. Here’s, perhaps, the biggest impact the Nationals have had — and will continue to have on our community — more kids in our community. The Nationals players have been an awesome addition to our town, both at Havre High School and throughout the community. I know community service is impor-
tant to junior hockey, and the Nationals being here will benefit the community in a variety of ways, off the ice. Yes, in the end, a junior hockey team turned out to be the perfect addition to the popular sports family in Havre. It’s a perfect fit
and at exactly the right time. And whether you were a hockey fan before the Nationals arrived, or not, you should try and become one now, because the Nationals are an exciting new part of our community and, hopefully, they will be for years to come.
Havre Daily News/File Photo
The Glacier Nationals junior hockey team has quickly become an exciting part of the Havre sports landscape, on and off the ice.
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GLACIER NATIONALS
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Nationals making progress in Havre The move to Havre from Whitefish is working out well for Glacier and the Havre community Chris Peterson
Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com A little less than a year ago, Glacier Nationals’ general manager Butch Kowalka found himself in some trouble. His team, which played in Whitefish, had its ice taken away and suddenly he found himself in need of a new home for his hockey team. That’s when he thought of Havre. Now, almost a year later, the marriage between Havre, which loves its hockey, and the Nationals is off to a promising start. “I thought Havre was a hidden gem,” Kowalka said. “I was doing some looking around for someone else to get a team and then suddenly I needed a new place. So then I called the Havre Youth Hockey Association and we got a deal done in three days. I thought Havre was a great place. The facilities are great, the locker rooms are fantastic, Montana State University-Northern, a fouryear school is something we never had before and on top of that, the community is really passionate about hockey.” Fast forward 10 months and the Nationals have now become a regular part of the sports scene here in Havre. Their home games, which are held mostly Friday and Saturday nights, bring in hundreds of Havre sports fans, and it’s something Kowalka hopes becomes even more popular as time goes on. “Obviously we want to get the community as involved as we can,” Kowalka said. “Our boys also really love playing in front of a big crowd. It makes it really fun when you have a rowdy kind of atmosphere.” One player with a unique perspective on the move from Whitefish to Havre is Nation-
als forward Karson Frisk, who is the only player who followed Kowalka and the team to Havre. Frisk, 20, has shined this season for the Nationals, particularly of late. He currently leads the team in goals with 12 and is hoping to finish the season on a strong note to attract college recruiters. “I think the transition was hard for this team,” Frisk said. “But when I got to Havre, I was welcomed here. And people are very nice, they come out and support us and they support the youth hockey team. “I think it’s pretty much the same; we might have had more fans in Whitefish,” he added when asked to compare the two towns. “But hopefully as the years go by, we will get even more people to come up to the Havre Ice Dome.” When it came time for the Nationals to find a new home, Havre was a good location for a number of reasons, but one of the main ones was the Havre Ice Dome. The Ice Dome has been home to the Havre Ice Hawks and youth hockey for years but with the arrival of the Nationals, the venue got some upgrades. The new features include locker rooms and Internet access, which is needed because Glacier is required by the North American Tier 3 Hockey League to stream every game live online. The Nationals’ presence has also helped bring in additional revenue for Havre Youth Hockey that did not previously exist. The extra money comes from a variety of revenue streams that consist of concessions, a 20 percent share of beer sales and the fee Glacier pays to use the ice, which is substantial. “I think our ice bill is probably going to be around $24,000,” Kowalka said. “So I think it’s been good for Havre Youth Hockey. I don’t know all the final numbers but I know they have made over $1,500 on beer sales alone and have had nights where they make about that much just on concessions alone. So it’s been a good thing for everybody.”
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GLACIER NATIONALS
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Progress: Nationals improving with every game ■ From Page 2 A big part of building a successful junior hockey program has to do with not only recruiting players but also getting them to want to come back the following season. “When I grew up and played for a junior team, I would have never thought of playing for another junior team,” Kowalka said. “But now, there are so many teams around and there could be even more teams. So you just try to put your best foot forward. But getting those kids back is a testament of your program. “But the guys really like it here,” he added. “They like the town, they like the facilities, the like the schools and that’s the best that you can hope for.” While Frisk followed Kowalka, one player on the current roster who didn’t was Joshua Larson, who joined the team shortly after the season started and has turned into one of its most electrifying offensive players. He has 11 goals on the year, which puts him right behind Frisk for the team lead. “I have had a lot of fun, it’s been great being around all the guys and I really like Havre,” Larson said. “I had some friends on the team and that’s how I heard about the Nationals and it sounded like a good team, and I really like playing here. The people come out and support us. And it’s been fun to get to know the youth hockey guys. We joke around with them, but we also try to help them out
as much as we can.” Larson, who also has aspirations of playing at a higher level of junior hockey or in college, sounds committed to playing another season for the Nationals in Havre as he tries to build his skill set even further. “I think I am pretty close and that I can get there,” Larson said. “I think I just need to keep getting better. I think I have a year or two left, so I just want to work hard this summer, get stronger and come back and have a better season than the year before.” While the Nationals haven’t had a ton of success in terms of winning games this season with a 6-23-5 record, their development on the ice as the season has gone on is clear as day. They are a much more competitive team than they were to open the season, and Kowalka hopes a strong finish will not only build positive momentum going forward but also help Glacier become a more permanent fixture in Havre sports. “We have a lot of home games over the last two months here, so it’s important for us to finish the season strong,” Kowalka said. “We really want to continue to build that support among the community. It has already been great. We have more sponsors than we ever did before, but we want to take that even further, and finishing the season strong will only help us do that and set us up for more success in the future.”
Havre Daily News/File Photo
Former Havre Ice Hawk Brandon Huntington is now part of the Glacier Nationals, who have had an instant impact on the Havre hockey community since they moved from Whitefish.
■ See Progress Page 7 Havre Daily News/Jake Shane
Tommy Kaddatz, right, and the Glacier Nationals relocated from Whitefish to Havre this past summer. The Nationals’ first season of Frontier Division hockey in Havre is going well, on and off the ice. Glacier has six home games remaining on its 2014-15 schedule.
Nationals Remaining Home Schedule Feb. 6 Feb. 13 Feb. 14 Feb. 20 Feb. 22 Feb. 28
vs Great Falls Americans, 8 p.m. vs Bozeman Ice Dogs, 8 p.m. vs Bozeman Ice Dogs, 7:30 p.m. vs Billings Bulls, 8 p.m. vs Helena Bighorns, 12:15 p.m. vs Billings Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Havre Daily News/Jake Shane
Glacier's Dawson Glover, right, goes after a puck during a recent Frontier Division hockey game at the Havre Ice Dome.
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Name Karson Frisk Joshua Larson Tyler McMahon Matt Gamblin Blake Evennou Wyatt Fretheim Dustin Foran Tommy Kaddatz Dekker Gosnell Tyler Unekis Zac Flachman Brett LeBeau Brandon Huntington Jarod Ackerman Prokofil Vladykoskiy Tristan Klewsaat Casey Reamer Hampton Hastings Dawson Glover Mitch Tulk Kyle Provencher Ryan Lund Nolan Slager
GLACIER NATIONALS
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2015 Nationals Roster Pos. F F F F D D F D F F F F F D D D F F F D F G G
Ht. 6-3 5-10 5-10 5-11 5-8 5-11 5-8 5-10 5-9 5-10 6-6 5-10 5-8 6-0 6-0 5-11 6-4 6-1 6-1 6-0 6-0 6-0 6-3
Wt. 190 170 170 180 165 175 155 170 170 155 240 185 150 175 203 170 155 170 185 165 170 195 185
Home Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Zeeland, Michigan Cranberry Portage, Manitoba Macomb, Michigan Hardwood, North Dakota Clinton Township, Michigan Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix, Arizona Antioch, Illinois Harrisburg, South Dakota Bloomfield Township, Michigan Havre, Montana Westminster, Colorado St. Petersburg, Russia Larkspar, Colorado Consul, Sasketchewan Atlanta, Georgia Anchorage, Alaska Phoenix, Arizona Naperville, Illinois Anchorage, Alaska Zeeland, Michigan