LAC LA BICHE - When the Junior A Lac La Biche Lakers - the community’s newest sports franchise - hit the Bold Centre ice in early October for their inaugural season, there will be a handful of local players on the roster.
A couple of those players are Ethan Auger of Caslan and Saddle Lake’s Dustin Willier.
Willier, a 17-year-old centre who has been playing hockey since the age of three, was one of about 35 players who tried out at the Lakers’ spring training camp, which took place during the May 9 weekend.
Willier explained that lots of people were talking about the training camp, which is what got him interested in trying out. He soon found himself being invited to wear the Lakers' jersey, which features a red anchor against a blue background to signify the Lakeland region.
“The training camp was really fun,” he told Lakeland This Week. “I made new friends, and I also was really good with playing my position as a centre man.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming season, Willier, who recently played with the St. Paul U18 Canadiens and is about to play Junior A-level hockey for the first time, says that playing with the Lakers, who are a member of the independent National Junior Hockey League (NJHL), should help him considerably with his hockey career. He hopes to one day make it to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
However, if a hockey career isn’t in the cards for him, his backup plan is to enter a career in the trades.
“I want to go pipelining if hockey doesn’t work out,” he says.
Outside of hockey, Willier enjoys skateboarding and going out to watch movies with friends.
For Ethan Auger, a 17-year-old defenseman from the Caslan area who attends school in Lac La Biche, hockey is all about making friends and progressing his skills. The highest level that he has played is U18 with the Boyle Blazers of the North Eastern Alberta Hockey League (NEAHL).
Like Willier, this will also be his first year playing Junior A hockey and it's a season he is looking forward to.
“I want to play higher levels of hockey,” he says. “I believe playing better hockey will make me a better player overall.”
The spring training camp went very well for Auger, and we even won the shootout on the first day of camp. As far as his future beyond hockey is concerned, he has his sights set on construction and project management.
