SUMMERSIDE – A player whose last name is synonymous with the Summerside Western Capitals has earned the opportunity to participate in a very prestigious event.
Left-winger Cameron Roberts of Kensington is the lone MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League) player named to Team East for the Canadian Junior Hockey League Prospects Game in Okotoks, Alta., on Jan. 22.
“Coming from a little town of K’Town, it’s a pretty big honour,” said Roberts in an interview with the Journal Pioneer on Tuesday afternoon. “I saw some of the names of guys who have played in it, and a couple of the guys are in the NHL now. It’s pretty cool to be playing in that game.”
Described as one of the premier junior A events in Canada, the contest features the top 40 CJHL prospects for the 2019 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft as selected by NHL Central Scouting, and attracts scouts from the NHL, Canadian Hockey League, NCAA and Canadian universities and colleges.
“When we were going through the process to select players to go to the Eastern Canada Cup, Cameron was a player that was on the list, and I know Team Canada East had taken a real good look at him (for the recent World Junior A Hockey Challenge) following the MHL Showcase in Pictou County (in October), and really liked him,” said Caps head coach Billy McGuigan, who coached the North Division team at the Eastern Canada Cup in Quinte West, Ont., from Nov. 19 to 21. “There was a real legit chance he would get a chance to make Canada East, but when that didn’t happen the opportunity arose for him to play in the prospects game.
“It’s quite an accomplishment for Cameron as a young man, and a player in our program. Being the only player from our league is outstanding.”
Roberts said he is looking forward to soaking up the experience.
“I know it’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and a huge honour going there,” he added.
No stranger
The Roberts name has a long association with the Capitals. The 18-year-old son of George and Maribeth Roberts is a second-generation Capital. George was team captain for the franchise’s inaugural 1981-82 season, and later served as a member of the team’s ownership.
“Cameron’s dad was a great contributor to hockey here in Summerside, especially the Capitals,” said McGuigan. “I had the opportunity to coach when George was the owner, and it’s a pleasure coaching Cam every day.”
A 2018 graduate of Kensington Intermediate-Senior High School, Cameron admits there is a lot of Caps’ hockey discussed between father and son.
“That’s all we talk about, how he played with the Caps and now I am,” said the younger Roberts. “I lean on him a lot for advice, and he’s been great. He hasn’t pressured me, and gives me little bits and pieces of what to do here and there. He’s been great for my hockey career.”
Roberts knows what it’s like to be around a championship-winning team. He experienced the Caps winning MHL championships in 2009 and 2013 during his father’s reign as an owner and team president.
“Growing up I was always in the dressing room,” said Roberts, who came out of the Kensington Wild program to join the Caps as a midget-aged player in his rookie season with the Caps last year. “It was definitely special for me.”
It’s a feeling Roberts hopes to experience as a player with the Caps, who were the fifth-ranked team in this week’s CJHL rankings.
“We are looking at the process and going into March we want to be the best team we can be (for the playoffs), and we are looking to be the last team standing,” said Roberts, who acknowledged he feels more comfortable in his sophomore season in the MHL.
“In the summer, I wanted to get stronger, and I did that with my trainer, Aaron Dawson,” said Roberts, who is listed as five-foot-nine and 155 pounds.
Style of play
Roberts has emerged into a “tremendous two-way player,” noted McGuigan, who coached in the 2013 CJHL Prospects Game.
“He’s very responsible defensively, and I use him on the power play,” noted the Caps head coach. “Last year, midway through the season, he got on that line with TJ Shea and Brodie MacArthur, and I honestly think that Cam was the glue that kept them together and helped them achieve what they did.
“They started this season real hot, and I have moved them around a bit, but I think there will be another opportunity to get back together going forward.“
Roberts knows he will have to take some of that magic with him to Okotoks.
“You are going to be playing the best players in the country trying to get drafted, so you have to play your best hockey,” he said. “You just can’t go through the motions.”
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Statistics
Cameron Roberts’s statistics with Western Capitals:
2017-18
Regular Season
50 games
18 goals
45 assists
53 points
Playoffs
12 games
8 goals
5 assists
13 points
2018-19
Regular Season
23 games
7 goals
17 assists
24 points
