Kitimat family sacrifices so 14-year-old can chase his hockey dreams
A 10-minute drive.
For most minor hockey players and their parents, that's what it takes to get to the rink on time for practices.
If Michael Klonarakis and his folks hopped in the car and steered from their house to the Kin Centre, they'd need about seven hours to complete the trip.
The Klonarakis family home, you see, is in Kitimat.
Instead of playing hockey in Kitimat this season, Michael wanted to skate for the Prince George Farr Fabricating bantam Tier 1 Cougars so he could compete at the highest possible level. His parents, Mena and Gus, were fully supportive of his wishes so the only realistic option was a change of address.
At least on a temporary basis.
Since September, 14-year-old Michael has been living in a rented apartment here in Prince George. Mena and Gus, meanwhile, have been taking turns staying with him, two weeks at a time. Mena's main job is being a mom and Gus does shift work at the Rio Tinto Alcan smelter in Kitimat. When one parent isn't here, she or he is back home, keeping watch on the other two kids in the family, 13-year-old Deanna and 10-year-old Alexa.
"I'm pretty thankful," said Michael, a five-foot-eight centre who is considered a prospect for this spring's Western Hockey League bantam draft. "It's a big decision and they've all sacrificed a lot for me to play here."
The arrangement, Mena said, has been working out well.
"We've had a lot of support," she said. "My parents (Ana and Daniel) live in Kitimat so when I'm not there they help Gus out with the girls and stuff. So, it's been all right. It's been pretty smooth, actually."
Sometimes, Mena and Gus use Highway 16 to travel between Kitimat and Prince George. When road conditions are poor, they'll hop on the bus or even take the train.
But what about the cost of all that travel, not to mention the financial demands of keeping two places of residence?
"Well, we're managing," Mena said with a laugh. "It's something we don't really put a lot of thought into, I guess. We'll kind of figure it out later."
For Mena, the most difficult thing -- depending on where she happens to be living any particular week -- is being away from Deanna and Alexa, or Michael.
"When I'm here, I'm missing them, and when I'm there, I'm missing him," she said. "Either way, I'm kind of caught in the middle. But we try and get the girls to come out here or him to go there every once in a while -- at least once a month so that we're not apart for too long."
For Michael, living in Prince George and playing for the Cougars is paying off. His parents see the changes in his game and so does Sean LeBrun, his head coach. LeBrun is most impressed by the defensive improvements Michael has made.
"Michael's a heck of a hockey player and when he's playing (in Kitimat) amongst kids that aren't at the same level, there's the ability for him to control the game all the time," LeBrun said. "I think when he first got here, he did a lot of puck-chasing -- it didn't matter where the puck was, he was after it and it didn't matter where his (check) was in his own end. So he's come a long way defensively in his own end because he doesn't chase pucks now, he picks up his own guy and he has learned to trust other people to do their jobs."
As for the other qualities that make kids good hockey players, Michael has them all. He was recognized for his overall abilities when he was named top forward at a major tournament in Edmonton during the Christmas break.
"He can skate, he can handle the puck, he shoots, he sees the ice," LeBrun said. "I think Michael has all the tools to be an excellent hockey player. He's got the work ethic and he's a great kid. He can't get enough of being on the ice. He really wants to be a hockey player and it's a real pleasure to have kids like that on the team, and it rubs off. Other kids see how committed he is and the sacrifices the family has made to provide the opportunity for Michael. They pick up on that and it rubs off. It's contagious."
A couple years ago, when Michael was in the peewee age group, he and his mom and sisters moved to Prince George on a full-time basis for hockey. Gus stayed at home and came here whenever possible but that arrangement proved to be too much of a hardship and they all went back to Kitimat after just a couple months.
"The girls missed their friends, they missed their dad, they missed just being in Kitimat," said LeBrun, who also coached Michael for that brief period of time.
"For him, going back in peewee was tough because he was enjoying himself and he was successful. To have to go back and play Tier 3 hockey after living in Prince George for a couple of months and going to a couple big tournaments, he wasn't very happy about it. I'd always looked forward to two years down the road when hopefully Michael would come back for bantam."
Michael, a straight-A student who's in Grade 9 at John McInnis junior secondary, said he does hope to have his name called in the next WHL bantam draft. And, one day, he'd like to get all the way to the NHL and play for the Ottawa Senators. Leaving family members and friends behind in Kitimat has been hard for him but, at the same time, he wouldn't change anything.
"I'm just loving it, playing hockey here," he said. "It's really fun. It was a really good decision."
--- The Cougars will travel to St. Albert, Alta., today. Once there, they will skate in Western Canada's top-ranked bantam tournament, the John Reid Memorial. Prince George's first game is Thursday against the host St. Albert Sabres. Later Thursday, the Cats will take on Pursuit of Excellence from Kelowna. On Friday, the Cougars will wrap up the round-robin portion of the event when they battle the Calgary Broncs.
