While the Falcons have
lost all five games against
the Fish this season, they
have won twice against the
Arborg Ice Dawgs and once
against the Peguis Juniors.
Both the Ice Dawgs and
Juniors competed in last year’s
Keystone Cup held in Arborg.
“It’s a little more difficult
(to defeat those teams).
They’re just a little bit better
than us, I’d say. But we’re
right there,” Gray added.
Falcons head coach James
Worthing praised his captain’s
work ethic, saying Gray brings
leadership to the team, as
well as a scoring punch.
“He’s very vocal. (He) lets
guys know about the positives
and negatives of their game,”
Worthing said. “He works hard
and leads by example. I wish
I would’ve had him for the
whole season. He really knows
how to take a game over.”
Raised in Grosse Isle, a
small village 25 km north of
Winnipeg, Gray played his
minor hockey with the Warren
Jr. Mercs. In 2009, his team
3 8 | G AME ON | PL AYOF F EDITION 2018
played host to the Pee Wee A
Rural Provincials. He and a few
of his teammates from the Jr.
Mercs later joined the Warren
Collegiate Institute Wildcats
and played in the Winnipeg
High School Hockey League’s
third-tier Price Division. The
squad would go on to become
one of the top teams in the
division and Gray became one
of the league’s best players.
In 2013-14, Gray’s senior
year at WCI, the Wildcats
dominated their division.
Warren finished the regular
season in first place with a 19-
2-1 record, ending the season
with a 14-game win streak
and scoring a league-high 173
goals in 22 games. Gray was
the WHSHL’s leading scorer,
tallying 40 goals and 44 assists
for 84 points, while only
accruing four penalty minutes.
Two of his teammates,
Colton King and Garrett
Kristjanson, also finished top
five in league point-scoring.
“I played with some good
buddies who were good
players and ended up with
quite a few points,” Gray said.
For good measure, he
also captured the MHSAA
Boys doubles badminton
title the same year. In
recognition of his abilities,
Gray was named WCI’s
Male Athlete of the Year.
“He is the most gifted
offensive player I have
coached,” former Wildcats
head coach Ryan Margetts
wrote in an email. Margetts,
who still teaches at WCI, is
now the general manager
of the Manitoba Major
Junior Hockey League’s
Stonewall Jets.
“He plays with great
intelligence, excellent in tight
spaces, and makes teammates
better with his play making
ability. He is also the kind of
player who skates with the
puck as fast as he does without
it, which is another skill he
possesses in his toolbox.”
However, the hockey season
did not end the way Warren
wanted. After winning the
first game of the best-of-three
Price Division championship
series, the Wildcats dropped
the next two to the Springfield
Sabres, including a 5-2 loss in
game three. Gray had a goal and
an assist in the final contest.
Briefly out of hockey after
high school while his older
brother Aldyn played for the
Falcons, the team invited Gray
to try out and he immediately
made the team. In his first
season in 2014-15, he scored
nine goals and compiled 84
penalty minutes in 28 games.
This season, his penalty
minutes have gone down to
31. Through four seasons
with the team, scoring 140
points in 94 career games, he
has enjoyed playing with his
former Wildcats teammates
(five this season) and, even
more importantly, playing
for the fans in Lundar.
“They really come out and
support you,” Gray added.
As for his favourite
hockey player, Gray did
not go far to name his.
“Mark Scheifele,” he said.
“I feel like he’s underrated
in the NHL and he’s a good
guy on and off the ice.”
While his junior playing
days may be ending, Gray may
still be playing on the ice at
Sunova Arena next season. He
stated his intent on suiting
up with the Warren Mercs of
the South Eastern Manitoba
Hockey League, which could
ensures that he wears a Warren
jersey for the rest of his
competitive hockey playing life.
Just like the ice underneath
his skates and the boards
around him, he himself would
become a familiar sight. ❍