The miracle of the internet has the ability to give life -- in a cyber way.
A goal scored by a Burnaby Winter Club under-18 prep team player 10 days ago, caught on video, has gone viral on YouTube and Instagram, and drew media attention from the likes of TSN and ESPN.
BWC’s Nathan Pelletier tallied a goal that combined elements of lacrosse and baseball. He skated in from the left corner, evaded a fallen defender by flipping up the puck, then chopped into the net with the panache of an infield slap bunt that finished with Pelletier sprawled on the ice, taking a check.
“It just goes to show how connected the world is,” remarked BWC Hockey Academy director and u18 head coach Maco Balkovec. “ESPN has shown it, we’ve heard guys in Finland have seen it... Hockey players are so skilled these days and you can see baseball, lacrosse, a dexterity on display in that goal. It’s nothing we practice, though.”
When Pelletier pulled off the play in a game BWC won 7-0 over the Coeur d’Alene Hockey Academy, the reaction of his teammates was immediate.
“You look on the clip and his teammates Devan Purhar and Ben Poisson are both blown away by what (Pelletier did), and us on the bench were just grabbing our heads in disbelief,” said Balkovec.
He added the five-foot-11 forward is part of a group of very skilled players.
“He’s an incredibly talented young man, and that goal is a display of his skill set, a snapshot of what he can do,” said Balkovec.
That it brought a huge spotlight on the team has been incredible, said the coach. The team’s performance over the first two months of the season have been good on another level.
Undefeated in league play, the club is 13-6 overall after a 3-4 swing through Ohio and Idaho.
The goal for the year, as usual, is improvement.
“Our No. 1 goal is development, to get them ready for the next level,” said Balkovec. “It’s a long season so we want to build and be playing our best in March.”
To view the goal, search "Nathan Pelletier" on YouTube.com posts from the past week.
As part of the Academy, all players attend Burnaby Central Secondary. In its third year, the Academy has helped five players earn promotion to the B.C. Hockey League.
They play their first home games since Oct. 4 this weekend, when they host Pacific Coast Academy on Saturday (7:45 p.m.) and Sunday (9:30 a.m.) at the Winter Club.
