There’s no going back for Jack Sander.
After three seasons playing defence for the Prince George Cougars Sander’s junior hockey career ended with Wednesday 4-1 loss to the Kamloops Blazers in the COVID confines of the WHL hub in Kamloops.
In a season that will go down in history for its pandemic twists and turns, Sander stood apart from the rest of his teammates as the only Cougar who can’t return next season because of his age. He became the team’s only overager after defenceman Cole Moberg turned pro and centre Ilijah Colina decided not to come back for his final season of junior eligibility.
That’s not likely to ever happen again. Had this been a “normal” season, the Cougars would have almost certainly sought out other players to fill their quota of three 20-year-olds.
After 203 WHL games, the finality set in for Sander as he left the hotel for the drive back to Prince George in his truck to pick up the belongings he’d left behind at the home of his billets, Steve and Alicia Carter. Sander spent the past two months being grounded with his teammates at the hotel and adjacent rink in Kamloops, being told where he was allowed to go and when to do it, and now he’s free to make his own choices.
“When we were leaving (Thursday) it felt like we were getting out of prison almost, not that it was bad but because we were stuck doing the same things over and over again,” said Sander. “ It was a weird feeling getting out for sure, kind of a bittersweet moment for a lot of the guys. It’s definitely tough leaving the boys but I really enjoyed the times I shared with them and have nothing but amazing things to say about so many of them.
“It was a great ride for sure. It was pretty wild, a lot of positives and a lot of obstacles that came for sure, it was definitely and interesting year to go out on. It sucked that it wasn’t a full-length year and I couldn’t be around the boys for a couple more months, but we got to see each other every day and we did a lot of things together, always hanging out together and chillin,’ so in the end it turned out to be pretty good.”
Sander found out he was the players’ choice to wear the captain’s ‘C’ when his parents broke the news over a Zoom call at a team meeting in Kamloops just before the season began on March 27. He played all 22 games and finished with a goal and eight assists.
Sander doesn’t know where he’s going to play next year but his emergence as the Cougars’ most consistent and effective stay-at-home defender the past two seasons should create job opportunities for the hard-shooting 21-year-old from Beaumont, Alta., who joined the Cats in 2017 as an undrafted 17-year-old. In those 203 games, he totaled nine goals and 38 assists for 47 points.
“I found my role and kept getting better and better and made sure I had no excuses and no regrets when I went out,” he said. “I’m pretty proud of the things I was able to accomplish and just how hard I worked and competed my whole career.”
The Cougars stayed a two-minute walk from Sandman Centre in Kamloops, the hub home rink of the Blazers and Giants, and the only roadtrips were two hours away in Kelowna, where the Rockets and Victoria Royals were based. In any other season, a six-hour bus trip to Kamloops would be the shortest for the Cougars.
Sander saw firsthand how well his teammates handled the pressure of playing in the WHL, proving they belong playing in the league and its physical demands against big-bodied, heavy-hitting teams like the Kamloops Blazers, Kelowna Rockets and Vancouver Giants.
“They got to battle, in my opinion, the hardest division in the WHL, just the rivalries and the feistiness and the passion in the B.C. Division is always so high,” said Sander. “But (next season) I think they’ll enjoy traveling and getting the workings of a normal regular season and see what they missed, the normal struggles but also the other fun things that also happen.”
He shares the optimism of Cougar staff that the best is yet to come for the team.
“It was pretty cool to see just how easily those guys stepped in and did well and were confident,” said Sander. ”I was saying to the boys after the last game, just thanking them for what they’ve done for me, just how amazing they were and also how bright the future for the team is and how excited I am to follow along and watch the games and look at the standings.
“The amount of talent and potential, throughout the entire team – goalies, defence and forwards – it’s pretty exciting. Being a Cougar fan, there’s nothing but great things you have to look forward to in the next few years.”
The Cougars could potentially return seven 2001-born players, with forwards Tyson Upper, Jonny Hooker, Ethan Browne, Connor Bowie, Brendan Boyle, defenceman Majid Kaddoura and goalie Taylor Gauthier all all-eligible for 2021-22. All proved their value to the team as leaders of a young group but only three will be on the final roster next year.
“It’s going to be a tough decision, that’s always a tough part of the game in regards to who makes it and who doesn’t,” said Sander. “It’s a lot of relationships and friendships missed after that and I have nothing but great things to say about all seven of those guys. Any one of them deserves a spot, so I’m definitely happy I don’t have to make that decision.”
