There's a rule in school that kids aren't allowed to use their cell phones when classes are in session.
Brevin Gervais bent that restriction just a bit Thursday morning while he was in a social studies class but had permission from his mom. She was watching the WHL bantam draft from Calgary and texted him when his name was called in the fourth round. She told him to check out the WHL website, where he received his confirmation.
The Calgary Hitmen made Gervais, a homegrown defenceman who played this past season for the Farr Fabricating Tier 1 bantam Cougars, their choice with the 88th overall pick.
"I couldn't wait to find out," said Gervais, Grade 9 student at Duchess Park secondary school. "It's a huge honour, I'm over the moon with excitement. I talked to their traveling scout from Vancouver as soon as I got home from school and he told me about the rookie camp and the organization and wanted to congratulate me.
"They made it to the third round of playoffs so going to a good organization is a true honour. I was shocked at first. After the first class, all my friends knew about it and were congratulating me."
In 42 games, the six-foot, 165-pound Gervais picked up seven goals, 25 points and 74 penalty minutes. The Hitmen obviously liked what he had to offer.
"I think in the draft they were looking for good skaters and smart hockey players," said Gervais. "The guy from Calgary said the team wants lots of character and big, smart defencemen who are good skaters."
Gervais was one of the designated leaders as captain of the Tier 1 bantam Cougars, who had a successful season in the Okanagan Mainline Amateur Hockey Association, finishing second in the regular season standings. The Cougars went on to place sixth at the provincial championship in Kelowna.
"From Northern B.C., Matt Thomas, our scout up there knows the family well, there's a track record there," said Dan Bonar, the Hitmen director of player personnel, on the Hitmen website. "He speaks highly of the kid who was the captain of his team in Prince George."
The son of Janine and Curtis Gervais was the only Prince George minor hockey product taken in the draft. Goalie Brandon Peacock of Quesnel, a member of the Okanagan Hockey Academy, also went in the fourth round (88th overall), selected by the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The Hitmen had pre-draft conversations with Farr goalie Seth Lapre, but the six-foot-two, 190-pound netminder from Prince George went undrafted. Gervais says his Cougar teammates should not give up hope of playing in the WHL, knowing the likes of NHL stars Shea Weber and Dan Hamhuis also went undrafted as bantam players.
"Just because you don't get drafted doesn't mean teams aren't looking for you still, you could still get invited to a rookie camp," said Gervais.
Gervais will be on the ice this weekend at the Coliseum at the Cariboo Cougars identification camp. He's also an all-star baseball player who will be playing first base this season for the Prince George bantam Knights.
