A teenager from Thunder Bay, Ont. is joining a new junior hockey league in hopes of pursuing his NHL dreams.
Presten Bobyk, 16, was selected by the Grey Highlands Hawks in Markdale, north of Toronto, after taking part in one of the team’s camps.
The team is part of the Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League and affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Bobyk and his family see it as route to U.S. scholarships and maybe, just maybe, the NHL draft.
“You’ve got a better chance of winning the lottery than making the NHL, but I’m just going to try my best to get there and who knows,” Bobyk said, with his trademark calm.
Presten Bobyk’s team, the Grey Highlands Hawks praise him for his ‘great positional play and strength on the ice.’ (Grey Highlands Hawks/Facebook)
The 6’1″, 175 pound defenceman is praised by his new team as a “stay-at-home defenceman who has great positional play and strength on the ice.”
“I like those tough situations like battling on the boards,” he said. “I try to stay calm and to play my own game.
“Goalies love me,” he adds with a laugh.
In his first season of Junior A last year, Bobyk played with the Grey Highlands Bravehearts, in the Greater Metro Junior A winning the most sportsmanlike and most dedicated player awards.
When the season wrapped up, he came home to Thunder Bay to help the Bulldogs win the AAA Battle of the Bay tournament.
As a member of Webequie First Nation, he also played for Team Ontario in the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships in May.
This summer Bobyk travelled to the remote community to thank people there for their financial support while he pursues his hockey dreams and to provide a little inspiration.
“I saw all the kids, it was pretty cool,” he said. “They can look up to me and try to do their best in life and try things they never tried before.”