THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Kings U15 squad didn’t win a lot of games this season.
But despite the lack of success in the standings, the team never quit trying and never lost their love of hockey.
As a reward, the Kings will get a chance to do something this weekend that they didn’t get to do all season long – play a few games at home.
The U15 Kings are hosting the six-team Can/Am Cup this weekend at the Thunder Bay Tournament Centre, inviting the Edina Hornets, the top ranked team in their division in Minnesota, along with American teams the Hermantown Hawks and the Minnetonka Skippers to Thunder Bay. Joining the U.S. teams to round out the field are the Pilot Mound Buffaloes, from Manitoba, and the Soo Jr. Greyhounds.
It’s a great opportunity to round out the season and give family and friends a chance to see the Kings in action, after spending most of 2022-23 playing in southern Ontario in the Greater Toronto Hockey League.
Mitch Smith, a forward with the Kings, said it’s been tough, but a great learning experience.
“Going to Toronto, there’s a lot of great teams down there. We didn’t get a lot of wins, but you learn a lot from losing too,” Smith said.
Teammate Brady Cates, one of two goaltenders on the U15 Kings and a student at Seven Fires Secondary School, said the team had its ups and downs, but the players were able to grow their games and improved in just about every possible area.
“It was a good season. We didn’t have the best of luck, but I’m really looking forward to this weekend, playing in front of friends and family. We learned that we can’t take a shift off and have to be going 110 per cent every shift. We can’t take anything for granted,” Cates said.
Evan Simeoni, whose father Mike coaches the U15 Kings, said the important thing was knowing they were getting better each time out.
“I think losing is OK, sometimes, because every time we lose, we just want to win more, which makes winning way better and a lot more fun,” he said.
Like his teammates, he’s looking forward to playing against top competition on Thunder Bay ice.
“The energy is going to be high. I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and eating the meals that I like,” Simeoni said. “We just want to win. We haven’t won much all year, so it would be good to win this tournament.”
His father said the Kings played a gruelling schedule in the GTHL, with plenty of travel, so this weekend is a bit of reward to the players, but also some good exposure.
“We thought, why not bring a great event to Thunder Bay and put our talent on display for the local fans,” the elder Simeoni said.
The Kings are guaranteed three games this weekend, starting Friday night against Minnetonka at 7:30 p.m. They’ll take on Edina at noon on Saturday and Hermantown at 8:30 p.m.
The finals go Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
The U13 Kings are also in action this weekend, hosting a four-team tournament at Fort William First Nations Arena that also includes the Thunder Bay U15 AA Queen’s, the Dryden Paper Kings U15 AA and the Northern Selects U15 AA.
