Considering his hockey bloodlines, it was only natural that Brady Bjork, the newest addition to the Prince George Spruce Kings, would end up signing a college commitment with the Notre Dame Irish.
His dad Kirt played there from 1979-83.
His cousin Eric Condra spent four seasons at Notre Dame (2005-09) before he went on to the NHL with the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning.
And Brady's 21-year-old brother Anders had a three-year stint playing for the Irish before he signed this past summer with the Boston Bruins.
As a high school star for the Notre Dame Academy Tritons in Green Bay, Wisc., Brady attracted plenty of attention from NCAA talent scouts. But when it came down to deciding on his college future the choice was a no-brainer for the 18-year-old left winger.
"From the get-go that was my dream school and I'm excited to go there," said Bjork, acquired earlier this week in a trade from the Wenatchee Wild for future considerations. "Hopefully I'll get there when I'm ready and can contribute to them as well."
He's listed as a 2018 Notre Dame recruit but his college scholarship won't likely begin until the 2019-20 season and would mean he'll have 1 1/2 seasons to play for the Spruce Kings.
In 18 games of limited duty this season with the Wild, the six-foot, 170-pound Bjork had one goal and five assists. Kings general manager Mike Hawes said he couldn't pass up the chance to get Bjork when he made it known to the Wild he wanted to be dealt to a team willing to give him more icetime.
"They've got a deep team up front and Brady was looking for more of an opportunity and we'll be able to give him that," said Hawes.
"He's a skilled player with a lot of speed and you can't have enough of that in the lineup. Schools like Notre Dame only bring in good players and having seen Brady in practice for a couple days this week I think we're going to be lucky to have him. He's an offensive guy who's out up good numbers wherever he's been."
Last season Bjork had 19 goals and 46 points in 23 games for the Tritons and also had three goals and 15 points in 21 games for the Wisconsin state high school team, playing in the Upper Midwest (Minnesota) Elite League. He grew up in Mequon, Wisc., and played most of his minor hockey in nearby Milwaukee.
"My dad put me on skates pretty early, I think I was two or three playing on the pond in the back yard," he said. "We played other sports growing up but by sixth grade that's all we were doing, just playing hockey year-round.
"I'm a skilled forward and like to play with pace. I'm a playmaker and can score every once in a while. I'm really excited to put on a Spruce Kings jersey for the first time and hopefully we'll get all four points this weekend."
Big brother Anders has three goals and six assists in 16 NHL games with the Bruins but is currently out with a concussion. He and Brady stay in close touch with each other and Brady says his brother plans to tune in the webcast when he makes his Spruce Kings debut against the Victoria Grizzlies Friday night (7 p.m.) at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
"We're texting and Facetiming pretty much every day, we're pretty close and he was excited for me when I told him about my new opportunity," said Brady, whose family roots are in Sweden.
The Spruce Kings and Wild had an epic playoff series in the first round last year and after being down 3-0 in the series, only a late-game collapse in Game 6 prevented the Kings from extending it to seventh game. Bjork had never been to Prince George and when the trade was announced the Wild players didn't hold back with their jokes about his hockey destination.
"I was told it's just a rink and a couple of farmhouses, but it's a lot more than that and I like it, the coaches and the payers have been really nice so far," said Bjork. "They said its a tough place to play. The boards are hard and it's a smaller rink.
"We get to play (the Wild) in a couple weeks, so we'll see what happens. We have a really fast and skilled group. (The Kings) came to Wenatchee (two weeks ago) and I watched them play and I was telling our coach that their offensive-zone entries are like none I've seen. They really know how to work and play fast, so I'm excited."
Bjork joins a group of 14 forwards. But with Spencer Chapman out with a leg injury and Kyle Johnson and Ethan de Jong both heading to Calgary Saturday for a four-day 60-player Canada West team tryout for the World Junior A Challenge, Bjork will get his share of icetime in his two-game audition this weekend at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. The Kings also face the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Saturday.
The Salsa and Spruce Kings have similar records and should match up well together. Both have relied on on team speed and exceptional goaltending to get them near the top of their respective divisions. The Kings (14-10-2-3, second in Mainland Division) are just six points back of the first-place Langley Rivermen. The Grizzlies (14-10-3-1, third in Island Division) are only three points behind divison-leading Powell River.
Victoria's top two scorers, Alex Newhook (9-16-25) and Jamie Rome (9-26-25), are both NCAA-bound. Rome is heading to Western Michigan, while Newhook announced earlier this week he's locked up scholarship at Boston College. Grizzlies defencemen Jacson Alexander (Denver) and Drayson Pears (Alaska-Anchorage) are also the U.S. college radar. Newhook and Grizzly goalie Zach Rose have also been invited to the Canada West camp. Rose, a native of Paradise, Nfld., made 45 saves to earn his first BCHL shutout Sept. 23 at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack when the Salsa the Spruce Kings 5-0. The Kings outshot the Grizzlies 45-22 in that game.
LOOSE PUCKS: The World Junior A Challenge will be played Dec. 10-16 in Truro, N.S. Merritt Centennials head coach Joe Martin will serve as an assistant coach for Canada West under head coach Mike Reagan (Flin Flon, SJHL), while Prince George native Jamie McCaig is the team's goaltender coach. Former Spruce Kings trainer Pam Solmonson, now with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, is the team equipment manager. Prince George-born-and-bred Brandon West, the head coach of the Surrey Eagles, will be a guest coach at the Canada West camp.
