Sekundiak made it to the
Wheat Kings after a year of
prep training with the Rink
Hockey Academy Nationals
in the Canadian Sport School
Hockey League. He’s not the
first and he won’t be the last.
Even scouts are saying the
RHA route is the way to go
if you want to prepare for
advanced levels of the game.
“It’s obviously very nice
to be recognized,” Sekundiak
said humbly. “It just shows
that you can play in a bunch
of different places and still
get to a high level by working
hard and staying determined
enough, if you so choose.
For me it was all about doing
what was best for me at the
time. You have to take a look
at what’s going to get you the
furthest ahead in terms of
development, getting on the
ice, and all of the travel.”
After finishing Grade 10
at Oak Park High School,
Sekundiak made the decision
to transfer to Shaftesbury
and enroll in The Rink Hockey
Academy – a travelling high
school prep program, playing
out of the Canadian Sport
School Hockey League. In
reflecting back upon his choice
to transfer to RHA, Sekundiak
called it “a no brainer.”
“I chose Shaftesbury so I
could play for The Rink Hockey
Academy,” he said bluntly. “It
was really good, with the ice
times and workouts every day;
it really prepped me for this
year schedule-wise with all
the travel. It was definitely a
stepping-stone season with a
lot of preparation for this year
in the Dub. After I finished all
my workouts and skates with
RHA, I came out to Brandon
at the end of August and I
have been here ever since.”
Not only has Sekundiak
played on three teams in the
past three years, but he has
also attended three different
high schools during that
same period of time. It’s safe
to say that this unorthodox
D U R A C O ’ S W H L P L AY E R O F T H E M O N T H
2 6 | G AME ON | PL AYOF F EDITION 2018
experience has given the now
17-year-old a very hands-on
lesson on the importance of
accelerated acclimatization
within new environments.
“Brandon has been really
good,” he said. “It’s definitely
a different experience being
away from home this long,
but my billets have made it
much easier on me. All the
kids here just look up to us
so much, so it’s really nice
to be a role model for them.
The Brandon Wheat Kings
really are Brandon’s team.
The whole city cares about
them and it’s obviously an
important tradition here,
especially considering all
of the rich history.”
Not only has there been a
memorable past in Wheatie-
land, there should also be
a strong future, as young
gunslingers such as Sekundiak
and his fellow teammates gear
up for what they hope will
be “many long playoff runs.”
Paving the way for the future
were trade deadline deals that
resulted in captain Tanner
Kaspick and World Junior gold
medalist Kale Clague shipped
off in separate trades that
carried a return of youth and
upcoming draft selections.
“Obviously it was hard losing
two core guys like that, but
it just made our group here
pull together even more as
we have just had to work that
much harder,” Sekundiak said.
“Everyone has been stepping
up in leadership roles and just
playing well overall. Once the
two of them found out that
they had been dealt, they let
the team know right away. All
the guys actually got together
to just talk about the trades
and say our goodbyes. They
will definitely be missed,
but we are now ready to
take the next step here.”
And what would that next
step be? In making good on his
previous goal of playing in the
Western League, the now older
and wiser Sekundiak served
up yet another prediction –
one that Wheat Kings fans
might want to file away.
“Hopefully we get a
championship in Brandon in
the next few years,” he said. “I
know that we’ve got a strong
team right now, and have some
really good prospects in the
system. Hopefully in a couple
years everyone will have found
their place and we can be a
contender. Even this season,
we just want to keep pushing
and play our game – anything
can happen when we do that.
I think we can make a run in
these playoffs for sure.” ❍
MARCUS SEKUNDIAK AT
OAK PARK HIGH SCHOOL