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How does a kid from a beach town in Southern California wind up on a Junior A hockey team in sometimes snowy Central Ontario?

A kid with surfing and “ice hockey” on his Linkedin profile, in that order.

Just ask Stouffville Spirit forward Davis Bone.

It’s a long and winding story, and a good one.

Bone’s parents grew up in Ontario, she in Sudbury and he in Guelph.

They moved south for work, first to Arizona, then St. Louis, where Davis was born, and eventually Del Mar, Cal.

He started playing hockey at age 4 in St. Louis and kept playing when his family moved the next year to the west coast, mostly in the San Diego Junior Gulls minor hockey organization, from ages 5-16.

“Good community; lots of Canadians, surprisingly,” says Bone, 20, who wears his own dual citizenship proudly. “I had some coaches from Canada, including one from Saskatchewan.”

One of his teams played a mini game between periods of an Anaheim Ducks NHL game.

Davis lives with an aunt in mid-town Toronto, one of several relatives in Ontario, and commutes to Stouffville for games and practices.

“It’s nice to be in a place where I can see family,” he said after practice at the Stouffville Arena Monday. “I played a couple of years on the east coast (New Hampton prep school in New Hampshire) with no family around. That was definitely hard. So this is very nice. I get to see my grandparents and spend time with them.”

No stranger to Ontario, Bone and his family summered for a month “every year since I was born.”

Acclimatization to our national sport may be as stunning as adjusting to the weather.

“Hockey is definitely crazier here,” he said. “There’s a strong hockey community everywhere and people are much more intense about it. I’ve heard some stories about how people can act and it’s pretty crazy. Not that there wasn’t any of that in the States.”

“I’ve been playing shinny with my cousin. I’d never do that at home. Here you just go to a local rink and there are a bunch of people playing. That wouldn’t happen in San Diego.”

There are five rinks serving more than two million people in San Diego County.

“Hockey is on the TV when you go to a bar or restaurant here. People are always talking about it. That’s something you don’t see in California. It’s a lot like football is in America.” 

Davis is in his final year of junior eligibility. He plans to play next year, likely at an NCAA Division 3 “school with strong academics”.

THE SCORES

Milton 4, Stouffville 0, Dec. 9

Brantford 3, Stouffville 1, Dec. 11

Ryan Cutler’s team-leading seventh goal of the season tied the score at 1-1, but that was it for the Spirit who gave up the game-winner in the second period and an empty-netter to seal things. 

THE SKED

Markham Royals at Spirit, Thursday, Dec. 16, 7:30

Burlington Cougars at Spirit, Saturday, Dec. 18, 7:30

Spirit at Pickering Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 19, 7:30 

Photos by OJHL Images

Spirit This Week is sponsored by Farmer Jack’s in Stouffville and Sharon