by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Preston Roulette (Sandy Bay First Nation Ojibway) and Tannyce Cook (Grand Rapids Cree Nation) are the parents of hockey players Shane and Conner Roulette. The Roulette parents live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Shane is a student and hockey player at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin. This story is about Conner.
Conner Roulette is a 5-10, 160 lb., 11th grade player for the Seattle Thunderbirds. He is a forward and shoots left. Conner talked about his recent major accomplishments as a hockey player: “I was the Player of the Year in my rookie year of midget AAA and I was given the opportunity to play in the Western Hockey League (WHL) as a 16 year old.”
“The strengths I bring to my team is an offensive game,” said Conner. “I like to be offensive and score goals. I make plays and am always around the net battling. I also bring energy. I like to talk and have fun when I’m on and off the ice.”
Most aspiring junior hockey players have a goal to make it to the top of the ladder and that is the National Hockey League. “I hope to go to the NHL and continue my career in hockey,” said Conner. “I think continuing to work hard and practice everyday will help me to my goal and help me be successful.”
According to the Seattle Thunderbirds website, the team mission “is to uphold the Western Hockey League (WHL) of providing … high-caliber, competitive hockey, and to develop our players and staff in a positive professional direction.”
Conner is in the right place at the right time in the WHL. The WHL is a major junior ice league consisting of 22 member clubs with 17 in Canada and 5 in the US. The WHL has been the leading supplier to the NHL for over 40 years.
Family traditions of hockey playing are often main influences for younger generations to play. Conner credits his dad Preston and older brother Shane as being there for him to learn the game at a high level. “I’ve always watched their games and played hockey with them,” said Conner. “They always gave me tips and helped me work on my skills when at home.”
As a teenager, dad Preston Roulette played with the Portage La Prairie Terriers Hockey Team in the Bantam Under 15 Division. After moving to Winnipeg, he had a tryout for a newly Aboriginal-owned and operated Junior A Hockey Team: the Southeast Thunderbirds in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL). The coach was former NHL’er Wayne Babych who had just retired from the St. Louis Blues the previous year.
“Since Conner was born, hockey has been around him and his older brother Shane and I on a daily basis,” said Preston. “Shane is six years older than Conner and this was the time he started playing Timbit’s Hockey in the 6 and under age group. I have never seen anyone who has so much love and passion for the game of hockey ever since he started walking is incredibly amazing and remarkable. He knew the game before preschool, as an example he wouldn’t allow his older brother and his friends play street hockey unless he sang the National Anthem first and at his daycare, he introduced his teachers and all his classmates a group hug as something you would do after scoring a huge goal on the ice.”
“We would watch his brother play hockey every game from the time he was four to nine or 10 years old,” said Preston. “I would have to carry a couple of his mini-stick nets, blocker and glove, goalie pads and a couple of mini-sticks, just in case other kids wanted to play but didn’t have any. I didn’t mind doing this at all, because this allowed me to watch both Shane play on the ice and Conner.”
“If Conner wasn’t playing hockey on the ice, he wanted to go outdoor skating, play street hockey during the spring and summer months, mini stick hockey in the basement, on his PS4, draw plays on a Coaches board or he would play and or position his mini hockey figurines as they would be situated in a power play or penalty kill and then all together in a big group hug after they would score,” added Preston.
“In the past few years he’s really improved on his speed, skill, and IQ,” said older brother Shane. “But one thing that hasn’t changed is his genuine love for the game, that’s one thing that separates him from a lot of other players. He’s always eager to improve and to play.”
Conner shared his advice to other young hockey players: “Just be yourself and commit to sacrificing time and your day to make yourself better. Don’t focus on what’s ahead but focus on what’s now. Work hard until you can’t do it anymore. Also just enjoy hockey and don’t get too high on yourself. Having fun is a reason I enjoy hockey so much because being yourself will take you a long way.”
“On October 5th, 2019 against the Victoria Royals, it was my sixth game in the WHL and I scored my very first hat trick,” said Conner. “It was one of the best times of my life and I still think about it. I still remember the feeling after the game. We won the game and I was very happy for myself and kept a level-headed focus into the next game.”
“One thing people may not know about Conner, he’s just not a hockey star on the ice, but he’s also quite an exceptional ball hockey player,” said Preston. Ball hockey is a variation of ice hockey and the team game is played on foot on a non-ice surface with an orange ball instead of a puck.
“In July of 2018, he was the Captain for the Team Manitoba Grasshoppers Ball Hockey Team that captured Gold at the U15 National Ball Hockey Championship in Fredericton, NB after beating the Withrow Park Knights (Toronto) 5-2. At the end of the Final Game, Conner was awarded the Top Forward and MVP Award,” added Preston.
Preston shared more about the ball hockey highlights: “A few weeks after the tournament, Conner along with six of his Team MB teammates were selected to play with Team Canada West in the World Ball Hockey Cup Under 15 Division which took place in the Czech Republic from June 22-30, 2019. Conner was named the Captain for Team Canada West and they won Gold by beating Team Canada East 8-6 in the Finals. Conner received the Top Forward Award.”
“In July of this year the Team Manitoba Grasshoppers ball hockey team traveled and participated at the 2019 Canadian National Ball Hockey Tournament in Vancouver, BC as the defending champions,” said Preston. “The only hiccup was Conner was unable to play in their first four preliminary games as he was attending the Hockey Canada National Under-17 Development Camp. His team’s record in his absence was 1-2-1 and they were unfortunately unable to defend their Gold Medal on the A-Side. They won the next two games and eventually Gold on the B-Side.”
“After Conner joined the team for the final two days of the tournament, Canadian Ball Hockey Association (CBHA) awarded him the Logan Schatz Memorial Award. The CBHA was honored to present the annual award in Logan’s memory to the player judged to the Top Player for Junior Team Canada. Logan Schatz was an outstanding ball hockey player who tragically died in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash,” added Preston.
Conner Roulette is quickly improving his ice hockey skill sets by excelling in the competitive ball hockey arena. Major decisions are coming soon for his ice hockey future.
