Thanks in part to a pair of brothers from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, a British Columbia squad made a bit of history at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC).
Gary Martin, a 16-year-old defenceman, was a member of the B.C. boys' team that captured the gold medal at the NAHC, which concluded May 4 in Kahnawake, Que.
Martin's older brother James, who had played for Team B.C. at the 2012 NAHC, served as the club's trainer this time around.
B.C. defeated Ontario 5-3 in the gold-medal match.
It marked the first time a B.C. team had captured a gold medal at the NAHC, which has been held annually since 2002. In fact, it was also the first time a club from the province, male or female, had even won a medal of any colour at the national tournament.
This year's NAHC attracted 16 teams, eight in the boys' division and eight in the girls' category.
The younger Martin, who is 6-foot-2 and weighs 213 pounds, also starred this past season with the Port Alberni Bulldogs' midget team. The Bulldogs capped off their campaign by capturing their provincial title.
“It's definitely been a good start to the year for me,” Gary said.
And he's hoping some more positive hockey news will soon be coming his way.
While he was at the NAHC, Martin caught the attention of officials from Hit The Ice, a hockey series which airs on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Show officials were at the national tournament scouting for talent to appear on the second year of the series, which will be filmed this summer.
“They might be bringing me out for that,” Martin said. “That would be pretty big. I'm just going to keep working out and hope that they might invite me.”
Martin is also hoping to move up to the junior ranks for the 2013-14 season. In the next few weeks he'll be planning which junior tryout camps to attend.
Ideally, Martin would like to play at the Junior A level in the British Columbia Hockey League this upcoming season. And if he can't make the grade at this level, he might have to suit up for a Junior B squad in the province.
Gary had also tried out for the 2012 Team B.C., which his brother James was on. Since he was cut from that club, he made it a goal to crack this year's roster.
“I worked pretty hard in the summer to get to this,” Gary said.
Besides being a year older, Martin's chances to make the team were enhanced because of a couple of other reasons.
In the past year he grew two inches but also dropped 30 pounds from his frame.
“It sure helped a lot with my hockey,” Gary said, adding his weight loss has made him much quicker while he's on the ice.
Though his brother was a member of the B.C. team that placed fifth at the 2012 NAHC held in Saskatoon, Gary Martin said he was not aware of the fact a club from the province had never won a medal at the national tournament.
“I didn't hear about that until we got there,” he said.
Heading into the tournament, Martin only knew a handful of the other players on the B.C. roster. But they all managed to gel rather quickly.
“It was a pretty good group of guys,” said Martin, who, despite being a two-way blueliner, primarily concentrated on his defensive responsibilities at the NAHC and was held pointless in six games.
B.C. coach Joe Quewezance had high praise for the rear guard.
“He's done everything we expected of him,” Quewezance said. “He came in and played some big minutes for us.”
Besides a regular shift, Martin also had some power play and penalty killing duties during the tournament.
As for his older brother, he no longer plays hockey.
“I broke my hand a few too many times,” James said. During his minor hockey career the elder Martin broke his hand three times.
But he was able to be part of this year's B.C. squad as he had taken an emergency medical responder course this past February and then applied for the trainer job while his brother was trying out for the club.
It's a decision he's glad he made. And he was thrilled he was able to do his bit to help the team make some history.
“It's insane,” he said. “It's just unbelievable to be a part of it.”
Though a B.C. entry had never won a NAHC medal before, the elder Martin said this year's team had a lofty goal.
“We came in with the hopes of getting the gold medal, like every other team does,” he said.
