Game On Magazine 2017 Nov Game On low res | Page 40

“Coaches have talked to
me a lot about what it’s going
to take for me to stick at the
AHL level and it’s also about
getting the right opportunity
with the right organization
at the right time in order
to fit somewhere. A lot of
little things have to come
into play and I have to take
the opportunity that’s given
to me and make the most
of the opportunity when
I’m given that chance.”
But is it fun? Hamonic is
23 now and he’s still trying to
make it at the AHL level. Not
the NHL level, but the AHL
level. Shouldn’t he be selling
insurance and playing beer
league hockey at the Iceplex?
“Oh, it’s still fun,” he said
with a wide smile. “I’m still
playing hockey. Put it in
perspective, I could be doing
this or I could be sitting in
an office from 9-5. If you
think of it that way, it’s pretty
simple. I’ll continue with
this. When I Think about it
that way... it sure makes the
bus rides a little bit better.”
This year, he started the
season in the camp of the
AHL’s San Diego Gulls and
played pretty well, setting
up a goal in the preseason
opener against Ontario. But
then the Anaheim Ducks
started releasing players and
Hamonic returned to Wichita
where he joined Shaq Merasty
from Thompson and Travis
Brown, a fellow Winnipegger.
Despite the disappointment,
he has no problem with
where he is at this moment.
“I’ve thought about
Europe a little bit and it’s
intriguing,” he said. “I haven’t
pursued it that seriously
yet, but depending on the
way the next few seasons go,
I’ll definitely be looking to
go over there sometime in
4 0 | G AM E ON | N OVEM BER 2017
“
I DON’T WANT TO WORK
AT A REAL JOB IN MY LIFE
I WANT TO PLAY HOCKEY
AS LONG AS I CAN
the next couple of years.
“I have no desire to put
this game in my rear view
mirror. I tell my friends and
my parents and everybody I
see, ‘I don’t want to work at
a real job in my life.’ I want
to play hockey as long as I
can, I want to make as much
as I can from this game for
as long as I possibly can. I
just love to play. I love to
compete, I love being in the
room and I just don’t see
myself doing anything else.”
Hamonic is a South
Winnipeg guy who spent
a lot of his developing
years with Fort Richmond
and Fort Garry.
“I can’t remember when
I first played,” he said. “I
”
was four or five when I
started skating. I grew up
in South Winnipeg, just
inside the South Perimeter
by St. Norbert. I played for
the South Winnipeg Storm
and Fort Richmond Kings.
I’d alternate every year.
“Then I moved on and
played Twins, Monarchs and
Wild growing up. It was the
typical South Winnipeg-Fort
Garry hockey childhood. I
remember when I played for
South Winnipeg and Fort
Richmond, we weren’t very
good. We would celebrate
ties. Then we combined
with the Fort Garry kids
at the Twins level and I
thought, ‘This will be great,
we might start winning some
games.’ That was fun.”
He was about 16 when
he realized he could
become a hockey player.
“There was a moment
when I was 16 and I was at
(WHL) Tri-City for camp,”
he recalled. “I didn’t expect
to stay. I was kind of there
doing my best, kind of went in
blind and was going through
main camp and the GM came
over and talked to my mom
and I. He said, ‘You should
start looking at school stuff,
because I think you have
the ability to stay here.’
“It turned out that I went
home and then went back
at 17, but that was the first
moment that I felt, ‘OK,
I can play in the Western
League.’ And then, when I was
20-years-old and I had a pretty
good year in the WHL and I
got invited to the (Colorado)
Avalanche development camp.
So I got there and thought,
‘OK, maybe I can go pro.’ I
didn’t realize I could play early
in my career. It came a little
later. It was kind of like, ‘Oh,
Wow! I can do this.’ After that,
I just worked my way into it.”
Hamonic and his girlfriend,
Jenna, who plans to live with
him in Wichita, have no kids
and no real responsibilities.
That’s why they sort of work
as a team to see how far Justin
can take his young career.
“That’s why I want to try
to make this work right now,”
he said. “I’m still just 23 with
no real responsibilities other
than playing my best hockey.
That’s why I want to go for
this now and see where I can
take it. I’m healthy and I’ll
regret it later, not trying as
hard as I can now to do this. I
want to grab this opportunity
at this stage of my life and
see where it takes me. Like I
said, I just love to play.” ❍