NEWS

Brian Bunnett (photo courtesy of the Wellington Times) of the Wellington Dukes will be joining two of his teammates as members of Team East for the upcoming CJHL Prospect Games being played on December 7-8 in Dauphin, Manitoba. The OJHL has 11 representatives at this year’s annual showcase, the most among all Junior ‘A’ leagues in the country and are led by a Dukes organization that continues to churn out top prospects.

Brian Bunnett was born on April 21, 1993 in Bowmanville, Ontario and grew up playing for the local ‘AAA’ organization, the Clarington Toros. In Bunnett’s word, team success seemed to elude the Toros throughout his minor hockey career, “I played minor hockey for the Clarington Toros. As a team we were competitive, but never won anything worth noting. In fact, we were lucky to make the playoffs most years!”

The highlight of quiet and unassuming forward’s minor hockey career would come as a minor midget in 2008-09, when he got the call to Junior ‘A’, “As a 15-year old, I got called up to the Bowmanville Eagles and scored a goal on my first shift.” The up-and-coming star would play two games for the Eagles that season, showing them a sign of things to come. Bunnett would finish the season with 12 goals and 32 points, along with 65 penalty minutes in 31 games played, perking the interest of numerous OHL scouts who would take in Toros’ games throughout the season; while also earning a spot as an alternate for the OMHA’s Final Under-17 Selection Camp.

Following his minor midget season, the hard work and dedication paid off as the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds made him their 8th round pick, 155th overall in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection Draft. Although he has attended a couple Greyhounds' camps, Bunnett made the conscientious decision at a young age to lean toward the NCAA scholarship route and his sole focus is on achieving that goal.

With the OHL draft behind him, Bunnett joined the hometown Eagles on a full-time basis for the 2009-10 season. The 6’1”, 195 lbs. rookie took some time to adjust the junior game and would finish the season with four goals and ten points in 45 games. He would add another three points in the playoffs as the Eagles captured the CCHL Eastern Conference title, before bowing out in six games to the champion Newmarket Hurricanes.

The summer of 2010 brought change to the Junior ‘A’ landscape in Ontario and as part of the movement, the Bowmanville Eagles ceased operations. At age 17, Bunnett found a new home with the perennial powerhouse Wellington Dukes. After a bit of a slow start to the season, Bunnett would find his game and never look back. Perhaps spurred on by his selection as one of the top ranked prospects in the OJHL; Bunnett was one of only two OJHL players (with Brennan Serville of the Stouffville Spirit) to receive a ‘B’ ranking, meaning he is projected to be picked somewhere in the 3rd to 5th round by NHL Central Scouting in their Fall ‘Players to Watch’ list. Chosen to represent Team East at the Prospect Games, Bunnett discussed his excitement, “It’s really a very exciting feeling. Going all the way to Dauphin for the Prospects Game is sure to be an awesome experience, so I’m really looking forward to it."

So far this season, Bunnett leads the Dukes with five power play goals and five game-winning goals as part of his 13 goal total, 3rd best on the club. The efficient forward was named the Dukes Player-of-the-Month for November after recording 12 points in 11 games played, including four game-winners, while leading the club to a 9-2 record to keep them at the top of the East Division standings. Ever-modest, Bunnett deflected much of the credit to those around him, “It’s nice to see that your hard working is paying off and that maybe someone is taking notice of you. We have been enjoying a great year as a team and also personally, which has a lot to do with my two linemates, Simon Bessette and Zach Jones, who I have played just about every game with.”

Stayed tuned over the upcoming days for more features on OJHL Team East members playing in the 2010 CJHL Prospect Games.