Marty Labelle has traveled from his home in Ottawa to Prince George twice this season to watch his son Simon play in his last season of junior hockey for the Prince George Spruce Kings.
He came out in November for two weeks to watch the Kings play and and his son it lit up, averaging nearly two points per game over a five-game stretch.
Playoffs are a much different beast, with scoring opportunities fewer and further between as teams dig deep on defence to try to extend their seasons. Despite that, with his dad and Aunt Josee in the crowd at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, Labelle struck for two points with a goal and an assist Friday in the Kings’ series-opening 4-1 win over the Cranbrook Bucks.
“I told him, he needs to get two points per game or otherwise he’s taking the train back home,” laughed Marty. “I pay for the flight or the train.”
Labelle was held off the scoreboard in Game 2 Saturday, another 4-1 Kings win – but had to serve a roughing penalty after he dropped the gloves with Bucks forward Brendan Rogers in the second period.
“He may have misunderstood, he got two minutes rather than two points,” joked Marty.
Labelle started his junior career closer to home with the Rockland Nationals of the Central Canada Hockey League and when the pandemic hit he went south of the border to play for the New Jersey Titans in the North American Hockey League. He played well enough to line up a scholarship with Colgate University, where Kings head coach Alex Evin played as a goalie for four seasons (2008-12), and that connection led to Labelle to Prince George.
While playing in the Chilliwack pod last spring, Labelle developed some chemistry playing on a line with centre Rowan Miller and right winger Nick Rheaume, which helped the Kings clinch the pod title, and that forward unit has been the Kings’ top scoring line all season. Labelle, 19, finished third in Kings’ scoring with 12 goals and 44 points.
“I’m just proud to see him play, he’s loved it here, he’s made great friends and his billet family (Marina and Kevin Turgeon) is exceptional,” said Marty. “We’ve been wanting to bring him out here for the last three years. We just knew the BCHL was a better junior league than the one he was in in Ottawa and when he got his commitment to Colgate it helped us bring him here.”
Labelle has a twin brother, Vincent, who plays in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the Moncton Wildcats and he ended up second in team scoring with 17 goals and 43 points. Simon stands five-foot-11 and weighs 176 pounds, while Vincent is built more like his father at five-foot-seven, 172 pounds. Marty and his sister Josee and their brother Pascal all played hockey and spent many hours in Ottawa rinks watching the twins develop their skills.
“So now we’ve got one in the East and one in the West,” said Josee. “Simon is very dedicated and he never assumes, he just goes out and gives his best because he knows he’s got something to prove. He’s winning his spot on the team and that’s something I admire. He’s very focused.”
Marty played junior B, but according to Josee he could have taken his hockey career further.
“I still have friends who played against him and they ‘re like, ‘Your brother, the fastest skater I’ve ever seen,’” said Josee.
Marty says if the Spruce Kings make it to the final round he will be back and Josee would love to be by her brother’s side cheering them on.
“I don’t know if I will be back, he’s paying for it,” she said. “This is my first time here and I love it, it’s such a great small town.”
On the other side of the rink, Janeece Miller was the obvious leader of the Rowan Miller Fan Club, sporting her son’s No. 11 Spruce Kings jersey. A native of Scottsdale, Ariz., where Rowan was born, Janeece now lives in Victoria. She watched him blossom as a hockey player during the early years when they were living in Vernon and Kelowna, before he moved back to the States to play in San Jose (one year) and Arizona (two years). They settled in Victoria in 2017 when he started playing midget hockey with the South Island Royals. Miller, 20, played two seasons in the BCHL with Powell River before he was traded to Prince George in the summer of 2020. He ranked fourth in Spruce Kings scoring this season with 22 goals and 41 points.
“I’m very excited to be here, I’m glad they’re in the playoffs, it’s a great crowd, it’s excellent, it’s a great atmosphere,” said Janeece. “He’s had playoff experience (with Powell River) and he’s been stoked, he couldn’t wait to get playing. He likes the guys, it’s a great team, he loves the coaching and he’s pretty excited.”
Janeece had been looking forward to following Rowan and the Spruce Kings around on their annual roadtrip to Vancouver Island but that got cancelled when the November rainstorm devastated highways in southwestern B.C., prompting the league to scrap most its scheduled inter-conference games. Between that and the pandemic, which cut short the 2020 playoffs and eliminated all post-season play in 2021, she hasn’t had many opportunities to see Rowan play. This is his final season of junior hockey before he goes to the NCAA to play for the University of Alaska-Anchorage.
“I’ll have one kid in Boston and one kid in Alaska,” said Janeece.
Rowan’s 23-year-old brother Eamonn is playing Salam State University on a hockey scholarship.
Kyle and Carey Wolkosky, Rowan’s billet parents, were also decked out in Rowan’s replica jerseys and they brought their two boys, Evan and Jackson, to watch their favourite Spruce King play.
“We just love Rowan, he’s such a sweet kid, he gets along with everybody and he’s an awesome big brother to our boys - we have a 13-year-old and a nine year-old and they both play hockey,” said Carey.
“Rowan is just another son in the house,” said Kyle. “They love having him around.”
Janeece plans to be a frequent flyer to Prince George this spring if the Kings continue their winning ways in the playoffs.
“I’ll be back if they keep playing, as long as they keep playing I’ll keep coming,” she said. “It won’t be every game but I’ll try to get to some.”
Ahead 2-0 in the series, the Spruce Kings face the Bucks in Game 3 tonight (6 p.m. PT start, Hockey TV) in Cranbrook. The teams will meet again for Game 4 Tuesday. If Game 5 is needed it would be played Thursday at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, with games, if necessary, Saturday in Cranbrook and Monday in Prince George.
