RJay Berra and Brett Connolly share a bond from their years as junior hockey players in Prince George that is unique.
In the 2010-11 season they were the captains of their hometown teams - Berra with the Spruce Kings and Connolly with the Cougars. Both teams were struggling on the ice and they relished their time together away from the rink to forget about hockey for awhile and do the things normal teenagers do.
"We were both lucky enough to play at home and that last year we were both captains and it was nice to have such a good friend of mine around," said Berra. "We could go grab dinner and get away from what was going on. There were times we both had it tough with both our teams not winning a ton and we were able to hang out and be buddies and not have to talk about the problems that were going on at the time. We got pretty close in those years."
Now Connolly is close to realizing the dream of every hockey player. He's just one win away from getting his name engraved on the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals. They have a 3-1 lead on the Vegas Golden Knights and can wrap up their first championship with a win in Game 5 tonight in Las Vegas (5 p.m. PT start).
If that happens, Connolly will be bringing the Cup back to Prince George, his home since he was 10 years old. Like many hockey fans in the city who have jumped on the Capitals' bandwagon, Berra can hardly wait to see that celebration realized.
"It's been fun following it along and I'm happy his family is able to go, that's the biggest part," said Berra.
Josh Connolly is three years younger than his brother Brett and he also played in the WHL, starting out with the Kamloops Blazers and finishing with the Cougars. He and their parents, Pat and Dawn, will be boarding the early flight at 6 a.m. from Prince George to get to Vegas in time for the game.
"I went there last week for (Games) 1 and 2 and I didn't think I'd be going back but I am, it's something that might never happen again," said Josh, now preparing for his fourth season playing defence for the UBC Thunderbirds. "I never had the opportunity to come close to that and it's pretty cool he's close to accomplishing that. He's had his ups and downs and has struggled a little bit here and there but has found his game now and it looks like he's found a fit there so I'm happy for him. He's had to work hard and he deserves it."
If the Golden Knights extend the series, Pat will take the charter the Caps are providing parents and families of the team and will fly back to Washington for Game 6 on Sunday. If it goes seven games, they all plan to return to Vegas for Game 7 on Wednesday.
The Connollys were blown away by the spectacle of the Stanley Cup final in Las Vegas and the reception the Golden Knights received, and they were warmly-received when the fans found out the reason they were all sporting Capitals jerseys with Brett's name on the back.
"We're pretty calm, cool, collected people, we don't get too excited about too much," said Dawn. "It was absolutely insane down there, Game 1 was probably more crazy, it was literally wall-to-wall people. There's entertainment outside, entertainment in the rink, it's like a circus, not like a hockey game and every time Vegas touches the puck the fans stand up, which is half the game. It's quite annoying actually, it's more of a show than a game and they're pretty passionate about their team and they're lovely people. We sat both games by season ticket holders and they were very welcoming and gracious."
Berra first got to know Connolly when they were teammates on the Cariboo Cougars, the year they won their first major midget league championship in 2008. Berra is two years older and was driving a 15-year-old Connolly to practices. Berra, also a forward, went on to play three seasons for the Spruce Kings, finishing his junior career in the AJHL with Grande Prairie, before he went on to college hockey at State University of New York State in Oswego, N.Y.
He and Connolly crossed paths often in the 2012-13 season when Connolly was sent down to the Tampa Bay Lightning's AHL affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y., (45 minutes from Oswego), after playing his 19-year-old season in the NHL.
Picked sixth overall in the 2010 NHL draft by Tampa Bay, Connolly failed to live up to his potential as a sniper and after 3 1/2 seasons in the pros - in the NHL and AHL - he was dealt to the Boston Bruins. He had his most productive season the following year but was left unsigned that summer and the Caps signed him two years ago as a free agent. He didn't get much icetime his first season in Washington and was used only sporadically last year in the playoffs. But there's no doubt he's been a factor in the Cup drive this time, with six goals and eight points, having played all 23 playoff games.
"Tampa was so deep with prospects and he was one of them and he made a great comment earlier in the playoffs, saying those guys maybe matured quicker as far as their game," said Berra. "In Boston he had that opportunity where he had a really good month playing with (Brad) Marchand and (Patrice) Bergeron, but he was always passing, looking for them.
"Now, on that third line with (Lars) Eller in Washington he's allowed to play his game and he's more the shooter on that line. It was more finding those linemates that work with him and the coach giving him the freedom to be the player he should be rather than having to adapt to stay in the lineup. You saw in that last game when he scored, the patience coming off the wall and ripping it short-side. That doesn't just happen, he's not just throwing that puck on net. He's got a great release so it's nice that he's in a spot now where he's able to shoot the puck more often."
Berra and Jordan Duncan, who also played with Connolly on the Cariboo Cougars, were in Connolly's wedding party last summer at Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ont., where he married Katrina. They met a few years ago while Connolly was training in the off-season in Toronto.
"I became really good friends with her even before (she met Connolly) because I played hockey with her brother (Eli Kim-Swallow) when I was in Oswego," said Berra, who works on a city landscaping crew with Josh. "The first two times I met her was without Brett."
Dawn and Pat are originally from St. George's, a town of about 1,200 in Newfoundland. They came out west to Vancouver Island for work and were living in Port Hardy when Brett was born in Campbell River. Dawn now works for Northern Health as a community health nurse and Don is a city utilities worker. The family moved to Prince George in 2002.
The Connolly boys honed their hockey skills early on the backyard rink at their house in Westwood - the only time they got to play together - and it was obvious early on they both were going to be exceptional athletes. Brett played soccer on Prince George rep teams until he was 16 and he was a goalscorer in that sport as well.
"Our parents never really put pressure on us and I'm sure if me or my brother didn't want to play hockey they really wouldn't have cared," said Josh. "They just said, 'Go out and have fun and go hang out with your friends and stay busy and out of trouble' and I think that helped us more than anything when we were younger. As we got older we still enjoyed doing it, it wasn't like a job when we were younger, like some parents look at it."
Pat and his brothers in Newfoundland were good at sports and Dawn's side of the family also produced some good athletes in football and baseball. Pat was a rep-team hockey player but there wasn't as much opportunity back then to go anywhere with his puck skills. Dawn preferred watching her boys play soccer, where she could be outside, away from a frigid rink, and where the stress of playing the game was basically nonexistent.
"I'm not crazy about the pressure and right now, when people are winning, it's great," she said. "But my goodness, there are times when it's pretty serious. Josh played, and even in the WHL when they're 16, 17, 18 or 19 there's huge expectations and they're still kids. But at the end of the day we all want our kids to do what they love to do and as long as you're finding some fun out of it, that's the key thing.
"Certainly this year, Brett's getting lots of opportunities and I think he's having a blast. Playoffs is what you work for all year and it's so fun. It would be lovely if they could take care of it (tonight)."
Brett attended Westwood elementary school and went through high school alongside his WHL Cougar teammates at College Heights. When he was 12, he played on the Prince George Panago Cougars along with the likes of Ryan Howse, Brett Bulmer, Daniel Gibb, Dan Correale and Michael Garteig, all of whom went on to play junior hockey.
"Maybe his first year (with the Cougars) people realized he could potentially play (pro). I don't think he was any different than anyone else, growing up. There were a lot of good players in his age group and he got some good opportunities and took advantage of it," said Josh.
Trevor Sprague took over as head coach and general manager of the Cariboo Cougars the year after Connolly played there. He says Connolly has been a role model for minor hockey players since he left the midget program for the WHL and the NHL.
"He's always represented himself very well being a northern guy and being the teammate he is - he goes out there and makes everybody better around him," said Sprague. "He's a good mentor for the rest of the kids and the Cariboo Cougars are pretty happy about it. When you have some of your alumni playing in the NHL it's a pretty sweet feeling to turn on the TV and be able to watch guys who wore that jersey."
Greg Pocock, now the Prince George Cougars majority owner, coached Connolly for two seasons with the Farr Fabricating triple-A bantam team and it was obvious during his draft year in 2007 the 14-year-old Connolly was on his way to becoming one of the WHL's most coveted players. The Cougars picked him 10th overall that year.
"We saw kids from throughout Western Canada, we played all the top teams, and certainly he'd be in the top five as far as his ability to see the ice," Pocock told Citizen reporter Jason Peters at the time. "He's physical when he has the puck, he has a very good, fluid skating stride. When you watch him, he doesn't look like he's working all that hard or that he's really trying, but then you look at the guys who are skating beside him trying to keep up to him and they're just going a million miles an hour.
"He's got tremendous hands. He doesn't shoot as much as he should, but that will come, I think. He needs to be a little more selfish, in my eyes, but what a terrible thing to say about somebody - that they're not selfish. Brett has a tremendous shot. He won our team shooting contest when we did our skills competition. If anything, he's got to work on the mental side of the game. As he matures and starts playing at a higher level, I think that will come."
Pocock was right on the money, and the Capitals are now reaping the rewards.
