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Michigan calling Spruce Kings centre John Herrington

Hudson's Hope hockey player off to university next fall
john-herrington
Hudson's Hope hockey player John Herrington is playing his final season in the BCHL before heading off to university in September.

Prince George Spruce Kings centre John Herrington has known two hometowns growing up – Hudson’s Hope and Prince George.

Next fall, he’ll add a third to that list – Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan.

Herrington, a former prodigy of the Cariboo Cougars hockey system, is completing his fourth and final season in the B.C. Hockey League and will head east to attend Lake Superior State University and begin play with the university’s NCAA Division 1 hockey club.

However, before that, there’s still a large chunk of hockey left to be played here and leave his mark etched with the junior A club, possibly leading them to a second-straight playoff run. In a pollof BCHL head coaches, Herrington was selected to the BCHL 3-on-3 All-Star Game in Penticton Jan. 21.

“It’s been good. We’ve had a really good start,” said Herrington, who leads the club in scoring with 13 goals and six assists and 19 points in 20 games.

“Really enjoying my season, so far. We’re rolling right now. My linemates are doing really well, getting into the corners. Most of my success is due to them.”

On Nov. 11, the club recorded its 10th win (10-5-1-1) on the road in Merritt, but it was the night before against the same Centennials, a 3-2 loss, where Herrington managed to score both goals.

Herrington recorded his first career BCHL hat trick Oct. 22 in Vernon and has had a pair of two-goal games since then, Nov. 11 in 3-2 loss in Merritt and last Friday in a 4-3 victory in Trail.His game-winner to beat the Smoke Eaters came with 70 seconds left in the game.

The Spruce Kings (12-6-1-1-0) will take on the west Kelowna Warriors (12-5-2-0-0) in a battle for second place Friday night in Prince George, with a rematch set for Saturday.Gae time for both is 7 p.m. at Kopar Memorial Arena.

“It’s a different role for me on the team this year. I get to be a bit more of a leader. I’m wearing a letter now,” said Herrington.

“It’s a cool experience and it’s a good experience for me. I split with another guy last season wearing the ‘A” so this is my first year full-time wearing the A.”

For the kid from Hudson’s Hope, the love for hockey started an early age.

“My dad used to pick me up from school when I was, like, three and four, and we’d head over to the rink. They would be nobody at the rink from, like, 3:30 to 7 p.m. We’d stay there for four hours and then have dinner. We did this three, four times a week,” Herrington added.

His father, he said, also built him an outdoor rink to hone his skills.

“I started out as a defenceman, because that’s what my dad was, but I realized I liked scoring goals a lot more than playing defence, so I switched. I love taking face-offs…another battle I had to win.”

It was, likely, that drive that got him noticed by scouts during the 2020 pod season in Chilliwack.

“We played 20 games in some 40 days in one location and I guess they were watching a lot of those games. In the summer they offered me a scholarship."

Herrington considers Lake Superior State a good fit.

“They’re one of the smaller schools in a tight-knit community. It’s about five minutes across the border from [Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.] Canada. I guess a lot of their Canadian players will just walk across the border and go get Tim Horton’s, all the time.”

The 20-year-old, though, is playing coy when asked if that was a deciding factor for him to sign.

Asked if there were any big influences in his young hockey career, one name came to mind – former Spruce Kings defenceman and Northeast B.C/Yukon U-18 Trackers coach Gerard Dicaire.

“He kind of made me the player I am today which has gotten me this far,” Herrington said.

But, no matter how far his future takes him, he’ll always be remembered by the place he grew up.

“We are so proud of him. The community is really proud of him,” said Hudson’s Hope mayor Dave Heiberg.

“He was so talented at such a very young age. That’s such a tough racket to break into but he works really, really hard at it. Very serious about it as you have to be at that age. We wish him well!”