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Broncos squad . And then , on Jan . 9 of this year , he was part of a 10-man deal that sent five players and two draft picks from Swift Current to Lethbridge in exchange for three veteran players .
“ This was obviously a difficult trade to make , as you can imagine , but one we felt we had to do ,” said Hurricanes General Manager Peter Anholt . “ To be able to get a big , young guy like Logan Barlage , who has a lot of potential and we think he will be a real good player and to get Flodell , Blocker and Stanley to help us right now is important . And , of course , there are two draft picks .”
It was a deal that reverberated throughout the Western Hockey League and it was an outstanding move for Stanley . In fact , it rejuvenated his young career . The 20-yearold had four assists in 40 games in Swift Current , but has two goals and seven points in 22 games in Lethbridge .
Matthew describes himself as “ a stay-at-home
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MATTHEW STANLEY , LETHBRIDGE HURRICANES
defenseman ” who likes to play mean in the corners . He won ’ t back down from a scuffle and like many Interlake players he improved his skating with local skating legend and newspaper publisher Lana Meier .
“ My Mom thought I was an awful skater when I was younger so like many of us in Balmoral or Stonewall we worked on our skating with Lana ,” said Stanley . “ She ' s an excellent skating teacher .”
Stanley is focussed on becoming a pro hockey player like his dad while his cousin , who was also part of a huge trade this season , would love to “ play for the University of Manitoba Bisons one day .”
MAXWELL DEALT BY WAYWAYSEECAPPO
James started playing when he was four-years-old and as a youngster , also played for the Stonewall Blues . In his second year of Pee Wee he played for the St . James Canadians and then , as an under-aged player . Maxwell was called up to play for the Interlake Lightning .
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He played City Midget with the lightening and then played two years with the Provincial Midget Lightning . James wasn ’ t taken by any team in the WHHL / MJHL Bantam draft but he did impress enough people to have the MJHL ’ s Waywayseecappo Wolverines sign him for the 2017-2018 season .
“ It definitely bothered me that I wasn ’ t drafted because that ’ s what you work for ,” he admitted . “ I saw friends and other players get drafted or listed so it was tough . However , I just made a decision to keep playing .”
It was a good decision . A centre , Maxwell , enjoys the challenges of playing hard and smart in both the offensive and defensive zones . He tries to play the game like the Islanders ’ John Tavares . He loves the face-off circle – taking draws and winning possession of the puck .
As a rookie this season , he started well for Wayway , but after a coaching change he saw his ice time diminish and realized the Wolverines wanted to go in another direction . Like his cousin , Maxwell was eventually traded this season – in a six-player deal between Waywayseecappo and Swan Valley on Dec . 3 . In Wayway , he had seven goals and 13 points in 24 games . With his new team , he has two goals and seven points in 24 games .
“ I got off to a hot start and I think I was playing very consistent hockey ,” he said . “ As one of the younger guys in the league I was doing pretty good . In Wayway there were a lot of changes really quickly . It was very disruptive and I didn ’ t like it . I took a little
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time off hockey and went home hoping I ’ d be traded . I was very happy when they moved me to Swan Valley .” James says his biggest moment in the game arrived when he was a member of the Bantam Interlake Lightning and won the Provincial Championship .
“ We were one of the lower ranked teams but we just gelled at the right time and we ended up winning it all in a second overtime against South West ,” he explained . “ I think that was a very special hockey moment .”
Stanley and Maxwell are close and have plenty in common . Like most young hockey players both like to play video games , including NHL , Call of Duty and Battlefield and both prefer to listen to hip hop and rap music .
In the meantime , Matthew Stanley continues to achieve at a very high level and without a doubt remains dedicated to his life-long dream to play pro hockey just like his dad .
Cousin James Maxwell has grown from his experiences on and off the ice . Often under rated he ’ s a player who works hard and turns heads . His numbers as a rookie are good and he ’ s ready to contribute in a big way to his new team in Swan Valley .
Both cousins say their parents have been their biggest supporters and both speak highly about their grandfather -- Papa Frank Stanley , who travels to watch the boys and always loves to talk about hockey and life . And despite a couple of bumps this season , it ’ s been a very good hockey life for both young men . ❍
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