logo
ENFRع
#

Latest news with #juniorhockey

The endless benefits of being a Kitchener Rangers Billet
The endless benefits of being a Kitchener Rangers Billet

CTV News

time4 days ago

  • Sport
  • CTV News

The endless benefits of being a Kitchener Rangers Billet

What's a billet and how vital are they to a minor hockey team's success? CTV's Colton Wiens finds out. The Kitchener Rangers are preparing for the next Ontario Hockey League season, and have quickly received more than enough offers for new billet families. Every year the Rangers put out the call for billets. They have many families that return to it and even more that want to get involved. A handful of new billets were needed for the upcoming 2025-26 season, and the Rangers have already received ample offers. 'The only exception are local players. So, Matthew Sop stayed at home, as a recent example. And that's true, I think across all junior hockey,' explained Michael Zsolt, Assistant General Manager of the Kitchener Rangers. 'We're a major junior in the CHL (Canadian Hockey League). But then there's the Ontario Junior Hockey League, the GOJHL, the NOJHL. So across the province, there's thousands of really generous people taking in players as billets,' Zsolt said billet families are a major part of the entire league, as many players are moving away from home at 16 years old and living in a place they've never been before. But Rangers officials say they are lucky to not have to struggle finding billet families. 'That's part of why it's so great to have the interest we do. We're really lucky in Kitchener. I think not every team has the support that we have,' Zsolt said. The Billet experience Cailin and Brian Daub have been billets for the Rangers for 27 years now, welcoming 24 different players into their home. This upcoming season, the Daubs are welcoming Slovakian Jakub Chromiak back into their home. 'We treat them as like Jakub, the young man, not Jakub, the Kitchener Ranger - trying to make them realize they're important outside of their hockey role,' Cailin said. 'All the players are so different. sometimes they love to talk about the game afterwards, sometimes some guys don't want to talk about the game at all. So, you kind of have to get to know where they're at,' Brian added. It started when they both saw an ad in the newspaper and liked the idea. 'They needed an emergency home. At that time, we lived close to the Auditorium. So that's how we called to inquire. There were some boys who needed a place in an emergency situation. So they came three days later and they've never left,' Cailin said. The Daubs had a two-year-old and a five-year-old at the time, but say their kids looked at the players as a brother. Their daughter started including her billet brothers in her school work. 'She had drawn our hockey player in the family picture. So that was kind of like, 'oh, so they considered them to be just a part of our family as well',' Cailin said. Kitchener Rangers billets Cailin and Brian Daub A school project by Kitchener Rangers billets Brian and Cailin's child. (Submitted: Brian Daub) Along with Chromiak, their family is also welcoming Christian Kirsch this upcoming season, the newest goalie on the team coming from Switzerland. 'We're both looking forward to having them this August,' Brian said. Billet families must meet certain requirements before being selected. The team considers things like if the player has siblings at home or any kind of allergies. The hosts receive $135 a week and season tickets, but there are expectations. 'Obviously a safe environment, a caring environment. We provide their meals, we do their laundry, we help them with whatever they need help with,' Cailin said. While the Daubs aren't hockey fanatics, they've made lasting relationships and had experiences they'll never forget, including attending World Junior Events and making friends with families all over Europe. Brian was even invited to dad's weekend by Radek Faksa, who they had previously billet and now plays for the Dallas Star. 'I went to Dallas and we did a bunch of things with the whole team and [went] to a bunch of different games. That was a once in a lifetime experience. Just the fact that he asked me to do that was probably the most special thing that he could have done,' Brian recalled. But it's the 24 new family members that they really cherish. 'We've been to weddings and we've been with them going through having kids now. There's all sorts of experiences that we've had because of the billeting experience,' Brian said. 'Jakub went to the World Juniors last year. So we drove them to the airport for that and, you know, those little goodbyes are really important to us.' '[We] just love them to bits, like that's the easy part for me. Just finding things that they enjoy and trying to work some of those things into their day, whether it's the baking they like or we had one player who liked doing puzzles,' said Cailin. The Rangers said despite having a full compliment of billet families for the upcoming season, there's always movement in the league, and opportunity for others to get involved in the future.

Michigan-Based Universities Dominating Junior Hockey Transfers
Michigan-Based Universities Dominating Junior Hockey Transfers

Yahoo

time22-07-2025

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Michigan-Based Universities Dominating Junior Hockey Transfers

High-end draft picks Porter Martone, Malcolm Spence join growing list of junior talent joining Michigan-based universities. The junior hockey landscape has been completely flipped on it's head as of late as the Canadian Hockey League, Comprised of leagues from Ontario, Quebec and Western Canada have changed their rules as naming their players professionals and not allowing them to attend NCAA schools. This was changed this past August and players are taking advantage. Universities all over are tripping over themselves trying to land the top junior talent in the sport and lure them to their school. These teams have far better facilities, money-making opportunities with Name, Image and Likeness Deals as well as bigger and more mature talent than the CHL. The biggest draw for the NCAA is the American college experience that many players would be interested in experiencing rather than staying with a billet family in rural Canada. The biggest story out of the shifting junior hockey world was 2026 top NHL prospect Gavin McKenna leaving the WHL and committing to joining Penn State. Besides losing out on McKenna, Michigan-based universities are dominating this process. The University of Michigan and Michigan State have lead the way in terms of new transfers with top talents like Malcolm Spence and Jack Ivankovic joining the Wolverines while top draft picks Porter Martone and Cayden Lindstrom both agreed to play for the Spartans. The NCAA National Ice Hockey Championship was just won by Western Michigan, who has become a mainstay in the picture for a national title. The recent adds by the other Michigan-based schools will certainly close the gap and make NCAA hockey far more competitive than ever before especially in the state of Michigan. Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. Spence was drafted 43rd overall in the second round during this year's draft and is coming off three stellar seasons with the Erie Otters. The Mississauga native put up 177 points through 195 games and will be a instant sparkplug for the Wolverines offence. They'll also get a reliable backstop with Ivankovic, who was drafted with the 58th overall pick in the second round by the Nashville Predators. After two season with the Mississauga/Brampton Steelheads, the 18-year-old posted a 39-17-9 record with a 2.93 goals against average and a .903 save percentage. He played with Team Canada on several occasions and will be an instant difference maker for Michigan. State got the higher end names however with Martone, who was projected to go as high as second overall in this year's draft but was ultimately selected sixth overall by the Philadelphia Flyers. Many expected his move to be to Penn State as they are also making splash adds but the 98-point producer last season instead chose the Spartans. Martone's 191 points through 149 games with the Steelheads make him a blockbuster add. The Spartans didn't stop their as they also added the fourth overall pick in last year's draft with Lindstrom. The BC native will be joining Martone after recording 88 points, including 46 goals and 42 assists, through 102 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers. Lindstrom was sidelined for all of last season with an injury but returned for the playoffs and averaged a point-per-game through four playoff games. Both schools made adds that could immediately make them national title contenders and more junior players are transferring in and out all the time. We could still see more players opt to committing with Michigan schools and could make the state a future force to be reckoned with in the collegiate hockey scene. Red Wings' Net Gets Crowded: Gibson Joins Fold as Cossa, Augustine Eye NHL Jobs Red Wings prospects Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine both could challenge for Detroit's backup job in the 2026-27 season. Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store