A Williams Lake hockey player is receiving provincial attention after a successful spring season in Kamloops.
Max Sanford, 14, who will enter his second year of bantam hockey in the fall, was a member of the 2004 Kamloops Junior Blazers for the spring 2018 season.
The Blazers started the spring season with a gold medal in Kamloops April 13-15 where Sanford posted four goals and one assist in five games, while Kamloops outscored its opponents 37-4 in five games.
The team next went to Calgary, Alta., for the Alberta Champions Cup April 27-30 where they skated to another gold medal with a record of four wins, one loss and a tie.
At the Vancouver Pacific Elite Prospects tournament May 18-20 the Blazers placed third before, most recently, returning from Los Angeles and the Memorial Day Carmen Starr Tournament May 25-28 with a silver medal.
Sanford is described by coaches as a gritty sniper who can get physical.
After his season ended in Williams Lake, Sanford made the decision to tryout for the Blazers spring team, making the trip to Kamloops weekly to train with the team.
“Tryouts were at the end of March, then we were down there every weekend since,” Sanford said.
Coached by Kamloops’ Mark Chase, the team gelled remarkably fast, he said, in a short amount of time against some tough provincial, and international competition.
“In Los Angeles we lost to a team from Russia in the final for silver, and they were a pretty strong team,” he said, noting the tournament took place at the Los Angeles Kings’ practice facility, the Toyota Center.
“It was a pretty cool experience,” he said. “We were mostly playing against teams from the U.S., two from Russia and one Czech [Republic] team.”
Throughout its season, the team played roughly 30 games between the four tournaments it attended. Sanford was one of the team’s top scorers.
A highlight of the spring season for Sanford, meanwhile, saw him get to spend some time with Grand Rapids Griffins’ AHL player, and Detroit Red Wings prospect, Joe Hicketts of Kamloops.
“He travelled with us to L.A.,” Sanford said. “It was a great learning experience, and he taught me a lot about being a forward.”
When the 2018/19 winter hockey season arrives next fall, Sanford said he hopes to land a spot on a tier one team in the province, and has his sights set on either Prince George or Salmon Arm.