As Brayden Foreman continues to improve every season, his dream gets stronger.
Although he’s already a student at the University of Winnipeg, the captain of the surprising Winnipeg Blues still dreams of playing NCAA Division 1 hockey. And after the season he had this year, his conversations with U.S. College teams should be getting more serious.
“Yep, my goal is still to play U.S. college hockey,” said Foreman, who had 17 goals and 62 points in 50 games for a Blues team that had a much better year than many Manitoba Junior Hockey League observers expected.
“My dad played there and I’d like to have that experience myself. That’s the ultimate goal for me. I’m just a part-time student at the U of W, so my eligibility to play in the United States hasn’t been affected. I love the U of W (he’s in the faculties of Kinesiology and Education), and I could keep going to school there, but I would like the chance to play hockey in the NCAA.”
Brayden’s dad, Brian, played at Boston University and while the 18-year-old captain of the Blues has “talked to a couple of schools,” he’s still a long way from making any kind of decision about his future.
Fact is, he’s excited about the Blues chances to make a real impact on the MJHL next season.
“We turned a lot of heads this season and proved a lot of people wrong,” said Foreman whose young Blues went 24-29-6-1 and grabbed the final playoff spot away from Selkirk. “I think we’re going to have a really good team for the next couple of years. Look out for the Blues next season.”
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Foreman isn't a big guy, but he's not afraid to mix it up.[/caption]
Granted, the Blues did fall in four straight games to heavily-favoured Steinbach in the opening round of the post-season tournament, but Foreman himself took some giant steps this season.
Playing on a line with two of his closest friends on the team, Foreman finished 11thin league scoring and helped his linemate Mikol Sartor finish with 35 goals and 93 points and easily win the MJHL scoring title. The trio’s other member, Mitchell Joss, had 30 goals and 71 points and was fourth in league scoring.
“It really was fun this season playing with Joss and Sartor,” he said. “I’ve played with both of them my whole life. We played Twins and Monarchs together. This was a fun season.”
In the meantime, Foreman, who has two years of eligibility remaining in the MJHL, has been finishing his school year doing what most players have been doing.
“I just finished my last assignment on Tuesday night,” he said. “And I’ve been trying to work out in the house as much as I can and playing a lot of video games. Just trying to get through this like everybody else.”
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