Prince George's loss is certainly Cranbrook's gain.
After spending the first 10 years of his life in P.G., 13-year-old Kadyn Chabot is lighting it up for the Cranbrook Eagles at the provincial Tier 2 peewee hockey championship and he couldn't have asked for a better venue.
He's back on familiar turf, seeing his old friends, and the Olympic-sized ice surface at Kin 1 where this week's provincial tournament is being played is giving Chabot a lot more room to operate. For Chabot, a standout skater with a big-league shot and an above-average hockey IQ, all that extra ice translates into goal production. Through three tournament games, he has 15 goals and his Eagles are a perfect 3-0 heading into today's playoff games.
Cranbrook opened with a 14-3 win over the host Prince George Premium Truck & Trailer Cougars and Chabot picked up six goals and an assist. He had another six-goal outing Tuesday in a 10-7 win over Port Moody and struck for four more goals Wednesday to lift the Eagles to a 10-5 win over Fort St. John.
"I love the rink here. it's way better, it's a nice rink," said Chabot.
Chabot, a second-year peewee, played in the Tier 1 peewee playoffs last year and made it all the way to the final, losing the championship game to Burnaby. Three other Eagles -- forwards Scout Truman, Carter Spring and Logan Chapdalaine -- went through that Tier 1 experience with Chabot and it appears to be paying off for them this season. Backed by first-year peewee goalies Tyler Palmer and WIll Doerksen, the Eagles are on a roll.
"We weren't very good at the start of the year but now we're really coming as a team," said Chabot. "It's a lot easier than last year (at provincials), because last year we were playing with the best kids. We have lots of chemistry on the ice."
At five-foot-three and 122 pounds, Chabot isn't the biggest player out there but he's certainly not the smallest, and because he's so skilled he gets extra icetime as the kingpin at centre on the power play. He also kills penalties.
The Eagles play rep hockey in the South Central Alberta League. Just before they made the trip to Prince George, they played the first two games of the best-of-five league championship in Olds, Alta., winning one and losing one. In eight playoff games, Chabot has 26 goals. The Eagles will finish off the final series once their provincial run is over.
Chabot plays spring hockey with the Okanagan Lakers along with two P.G. players -- Jake Gendron and goalie Kyle Houghton -- and that's given him another avenue to develop his game. He's a lot faster than when he last sported a Prince George atom uniform three years ago and showed great hands and a wicked shot on his fourth goal Wednesday, a top-shelf beauty just inside the post that whistled past behind goalie Samual Begg.
As far back as he can remember, Chabot has always tried to keep up with his older brother Korbyn on the outdoor rink their dad Adrien built near their home in the Haldi community on the southwestern outskirts of the city.
Korbyn, now 15, has always set the bar high and was a ninth-round pick of the Tri-City Americans in the 2014 WHL bantam draft. He played major midget hockey this season for the Kootenay Ice and is now playing junior B in the playoffs for the Kimberley Dynamiters.
"I've always wanted to be better than him," said Kadyn.
Adrien, an Eagles assistant coach, moved the family in 2012 to Cranbrook, where he manages a Candor sawmill. The minor hockey association in Cranbrook is smaller than Prince George, but the move south has obviously not hampered Kaidyn's development.
"He got his skating down pat early -- it helps him that he has a January 11th birthday," said Adrien.
"He was skating when he was about 2 1/2 and when he was four we were able to register him in minor hockey. He has a good compete level and his shot is starting to take off now and he's picking corners."
