CdnSailor
09-28-2011, 08:59 AM
Perhaps no returning player was more affected by the off-season move of the Chilliwack Bruins to Victoria than defenceman and Chilliwack-raised Jesse Pauls.
If you saw those Bruins jerseys evident in the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre stands Saturday night for the Royals’ opening home game in the Western Hockey League, they probably belonged to members of the Pauls clan.
“I liked playing at home [Chilliwack] but you know what you’re getting into when you start out in this game,” said Pauls, noting that very few players get to play WHL junior in their hometowns.
The 19-year-old enjoyed it while it lasted in his backyard, recording five assists in 13 games for Chilliwack in 2009-10 and a goal and 13 assists in 21 games last season.
“Victoria is an awesome city and fans care,” noted Pauls, who has played in both Royals games this season with a minus-1 rating.
“Saturday night was crazy. In Chilliwack, there was not as much fan support although personally I had great support with my family and friends.”
With his modest numbers and five-foot-10 frame, Pauls has no illusions about pro hockey. Strong in the classroom, his plans are to study engineering following his playing days. Pauls was considering going the BCHL-NCAA route — playing 11 games for the Surrey Eagles of the BCHL in 2009-10 — after winning the Telus Cup Canadian midget Triple-A title with the Notre Dame Hounds of Wilcox, Sask.
Pauls was overlooked in the WHL bantam draft but eventually listed by Tri-City, although he was dropped and never played for the Americans. It was subsequently when Pauls was back in Chilliwack that then-Bruins GM and head coach Marc Habscheid, now the same with the Royals, asked if Pauls would like to give his hometown WHL team a try.
That sounded like a marriage made in hockey heaven.
But then came the relocation to Victoria.
The irony is Pauls will still see his hometown, although through the window of a bus, every time the Royals pass through the Fraser Valley to play away games in the Interior or Prairies. The bonus is WHL teams often stop off in Chilliwack to eat.
“So I’ll still get a chance to spend a few moments with my family and friends,” quipped Pauls.
The first opportunity for the quick Chilliwack foodie drop-in is this week as the Royals travel to play in Prince George on Friday and Saturday and in Kamloops on Sunday.
Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/sports/Pauls+home+where+hockey/5467409/story.html#ixzz1ZG91b4Z9
If you saw those Bruins jerseys evident in the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre stands Saturday night for the Royals’ opening home game in the Western Hockey League, they probably belonged to members of the Pauls clan.
“I liked playing at home [Chilliwack] but you know what you’re getting into when you start out in this game,” said Pauls, noting that very few players get to play WHL junior in their hometowns.
The 19-year-old enjoyed it while it lasted in his backyard, recording five assists in 13 games for Chilliwack in 2009-10 and a goal and 13 assists in 21 games last season.
“Victoria is an awesome city and fans care,” noted Pauls, who has played in both Royals games this season with a minus-1 rating.
“Saturday night was crazy. In Chilliwack, there was not as much fan support although personally I had great support with my family and friends.”
With his modest numbers and five-foot-10 frame, Pauls has no illusions about pro hockey. Strong in the classroom, his plans are to study engineering following his playing days. Pauls was considering going the BCHL-NCAA route — playing 11 games for the Surrey Eagles of the BCHL in 2009-10 — after winning the Telus Cup Canadian midget Triple-A title with the Notre Dame Hounds of Wilcox, Sask.
Pauls was overlooked in the WHL bantam draft but eventually listed by Tri-City, although he was dropped and never played for the Americans. It was subsequently when Pauls was back in Chilliwack that then-Bruins GM and head coach Marc Habscheid, now the same with the Royals, asked if Pauls would like to give his hometown WHL team a try.
That sounded like a marriage made in hockey heaven.
But then came the relocation to Victoria.
The irony is Pauls will still see his hometown, although through the window of a bus, every time the Royals pass through the Fraser Valley to play away games in the Interior or Prairies. The bonus is WHL teams often stop off in Chilliwack to eat.
“So I’ll still get a chance to spend a few moments with my family and friends,” quipped Pauls.
The first opportunity for the quick Chilliwack foodie drop-in is this week as the Royals travel to play in Prince George on Friday and Saturday and in Kamloops on Sunday.
Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/sports/Pauls+home+where+hockey/5467409/story.html#ixzz1ZG91b4Z9