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When you go through a hockey season such as Brian Gevaert has with the Wallaceburg Lakers, getting motivated for games as the season winds down can sometimes get tougher night after night.

Regardless of the dismal season the Lakers have experienced, it has in no way stopped them from coming to the rink every night and giving their all to compete.

“The one thing we do have is our pride and a willingness to go out there very night to play our absolute best whether the score board shows it or not,” says the 18-year old Lakers forward.

“Our room has a never give up attitude no matter where we are in the standings.”

Gevaert first recollections of hockey began when he was 8 years old and playing his minor hockey through the Blenheim Minor Hockey Association system beginning from Atom straight through to Midget before making the jump to Junior.

A life long Toronto Maple Leafs fan, a family tradition that began with his Grandfather, Gevaert came to the Lakers thanks to an invite from Mr. Bob McNear, who was Gevaert’s Midget coach and current Lakers Head Coach Ken Shiner.

“I owe lot to both of them for giving me this opportunity.”

Gevaert feels he made the team based on some basic skill sets such as physical strength, play-making skills and most importantly his work ethic.

“I still have a lot to learn,” admits Gevaert, adding “Mainly my thinking and learning to keep my cool out there.”

Gevaert was serving the first of two-game suspension at the time of this particular interview.

“One of my other objectives would be to learn how to be more mentally prepared for a game as well as developing more stamina out there to take longer shifts and contribute more. That’s just more strength training really.”

For the Lakers, the team has not strayed far from the cellar, remaining in last place since the start of the 2018-19 season with only 4-points all year with only two games remaining to play. Numerous injuries and a variety of AP call ups to fill gaps, left by player absences, due to game scratches for various reasons, has made it a challenging season for both the coaching staff and players. The upside being this year’s squad is the beginning of a rebuild with at least 70% of this year’s squad being new to the team.

“This team is nothing like last years team in terms of the roster. We have a lot of new faces and it takes time to gel as a team which may have something to do with our year, “says Gevaert, who also enjoys a part time job when not on the ice or in school working at C.L. Berringer in Chatham

“We still come to practise to learn and be better players, learn our positions and try and be as competitive as we can against any team we do play,” says Brian Gevaert. “One thing I can say is we have heart.”

 

Gevaert and the rest of his team feels at times that they’ve let down their fans in Wallaceburg and wants to get the message across they give it their best every night out there.

“We still have a decent fan base, though it’s not huge here, were lucky to get the same folks back to cheer us on at our home games, though we haven’t given them much to cheer about this season. We are grateful for them.”

The Blenheim native, who is currently finishing up high school at UUC in Chatham, would like to eventually attend the University of Guelph to study Agri- Business as a career direction once his hockey days are over.

For now, it’s to get through this season with a pocket full of positives to build on for next year as the Lakers look to improve from season they may soon want to forget.