by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
“My goal is to play professional hockey,” said Dalyn Wakely. “Athletics helped me keep a schedule, and a consistent routing that benefits my play on the ice.” Brother Sidney’s goal is to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Dalyn and Sidney are Ojibwe from Curve Lake First Nation. Their parents are Jason and Katie Wakely and are both Ojibwe from Curve Lake First Nation as well. They currently live off-territory in Port Hope, Ontario.
The brothers both attend St. Mary Catholic Secondary School in Cobourg, ON, Canada. Both boys play AAA Hockey outside of school. Dalyn plays for the AAA Quinte Red Devils Minor Midget team. Sidney plays for the AAA Peterborough Petes Bantam team. Both boys are also active in school sports. Dalyn plays volleyball and will be playing hockey for school as well. Sidney is considering playing hockey and baseball for school.
After the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) tournament, Dalyn’s team played in the OHF tournament where they lost out in the quarterfinals. Dalyn was the tournament co-scoring leader.
Dalyn’s hockey team finished 1st in their division and went on to win the OMHA Bantam Championship last season in 2019.
As winners of the OMHA this year his team will be hosts for this years OMHA tournament in March 2020. If his team finishes in the top 4 of that tournament they will qualify for the OHL Cup tournament. Dalyn is currently on a long list of participants for this year 2020 Team Canada team that will travel to Switzerland in February if he is selected for the team.
Dalyn hopes to get drafted to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and he is a potential 1st round pick this coming April 2020.
Dalyn dedicated last summer to his hockey training and fitness. He attended the Gary Roberts High Performance training for the months of July and August. This involved staying in a different city, Aurora Ontario, for the majority of the summer while learning on-ice, off-ice, and nutritional skills.
“Gary Roberts, who trained me over the summer, has been a positive influence on my game,” said Dalyn. “Gary was a positive influence over the summer and continuing on in my future, because he has taught me about proper nutrition and training to get stronger and be more physically mature. He’s a very down to earth man and I learned a lot from him over the summer.”
Sidney played ball hockey for the Belleville Predators and baseball for the Northumberland Jacks baseball team last summer. Sidney and his team won the ball hockey provincials, and went on to win the CAN-AM Championships with the ball hockey team as well. Later this summer he went on to win the Ontario Baseball Association Championships with his baseball team. It’s a big feat to win 3 major championships in one summer in two different sports.
“The boys have always been very athletic and competitive with each other,” said mom Katie. “From a very young age they were involved in organized sports from lacrosse, hockey, baseball, volleyball etc. Hockey and baseball seem to have been the two sports that have always stuck with them. However they enjoy playing basketball and volleyball with friends as well. Because they are so close in terms of age, 19 months apart, that competitive edge has always been there and they push each other to be better. When they were younger playing hockey, they sometimes got to play together. Now they’re older and in different organizations, and that doesn’t happen.”
“Jason and I look forward to the LNHL (Little Native Hockey League) tournament, where they get to play together and with their cousins for our home nation, Curve Lake. I think both boys are very proud of each other’s accomplishments. Sidney was there to watch Dalyn win the hockey championships, and Dalyn was there to watch Sid win the baseball championships,” added Katie.
“Sidney just joined a new AAA hockey team this season, Peterborough Petes, and has been adjusting very well,” said Katie. “I have see him taking on more of a leadership role than previous. His teammates have been very welcoming and made the transition easy on all of us. He will be putting the time into developing his skills with on- and off-ice training this summer, as he will be heading into his minor midget year in hockey.”
Dalyn is working hard to potentially be looked at for the OHL Draft of 2020. He was a Top 20 Prospect for the month of September. He recently got called up to play his first junior game for the OJHL Wellington Dukes as an alternate player. In his debut he got an assist and the team won the game in OT.
“I bring leadership and work ethic to my team all the time,” said Dalyn. “I have been the captain of my team for two years.”
“My Ojibwe values are based on the Seven Grandfathers Teachings (Respect, Humility, Love, Bravery, Honesty, Wisdom, Truth). In particular, respect and honesty help me the most. Respecting your teammates, coaches, opponents, referees, etc. is always important for success because those are the people who will push you further in your goals. Honesty is important for me externally and internally. Externally because being honest to others keeps everyone on the same page and builds trust. Internally it is important because being honest with myself helps me set reachable goals, and helps me to keep things in perspective,” added Dalyn.
“My dad has always been my biggest influence on and off the ice,” said Dalyn. “My dad has always helped me on ice by teaching me new moves and keeping me focused on what I need to do.”
“We’ve always taught the boys to be respectful to everyone in their sport,” said dad Jason. “Referees, coaches, teammates, opponents, etc. This goes into our everyday with the teachings of respect that can be applied to everyone … teachers, family, friends, and strangers. Everyone deserves to be greeted in a respectful manner. I would hope that my children are treated respectfully, therefore I teach them that it’s very important that they treat others that way.”
“We have also talked about bravery. So much of what they encounter in their sports requires a certain amount of bravery. Whether it’s facing personal obstacles in the game, or joining a new team with new faces in the dressing room. It’s important to their mom and me that they are confident enough in themselves to be brave in situations and know they can work through things on their own. Great things usually come with great bravery,” added Jason.
“Humility is also very important to us,” said Jason. “Be humble. Our boys were given this gift of athleticism. They’ve worked hard to develop their gift, but understand that at any moment for reasons beyond anyone’s control, that gift could be taken away or altered. We are all human in the end. Not better than anyone else. Use what you’ve been gifted in a positive way.”
Photographs provided by Jason and Katie Wakely
