A once in a lifetime opportunity for the Wolverines and hometown fans

Last Saturday night, the Whitecourt Wolverines faced an opponent they will likely never have the chance to meet again. Korea University’s hockey team, the Anam Tigers, was visiting Canada from Seoul, South Korea. Wolverines Head Coach and General Manager Shawn Martin said they had last-minute notice of the opportunity to play them and decided to go for it. “They reached out about a week ago. They had some other games in the southern part of the province, and some things had fallen through. I wouldn’t say we were looking for another game, but the opportunity to bring in some international competition was something we decided to go for.”

Without knowing much about their visitors, Martin said the team would be focusing on itself. “We are still in the evaluation process for our team, so that’s where our focus is because, obviously, we don’t know a lot about them. They are older. We’ve got their lineup, and they’ve got some nineteen year old’s and a couple of twenty year old’s, and then the rest are twenty-one and twenty-two years old. So, they are older than us and are probably more physically mature, but I’m not sure what type of level they play against. We will have to figure that out as we go.”

What research he could do, he did. “I talked to some people who had seen Korea University play in Calgary. They said that they felt their level was similar to or close to what the AJHL is. So, we did our due diligence before we jumped into it. I think it’s a pretty good experience for our players, number one, and then number two, for the town to be able to come out and watch.”

With the regular season just a short time away, Martin said he likes what he sees. “I think our scouting and coaching staff has done a good job of bringing in a wealth of talent. There will be some hard decisions coming, and there have been some hard decisions already. With our top four defencemen returning from last year, that’s a luxury you usually don’t have and having a guy like Carson Ironside in between the net speaks volumes of where this team can go this year.”

One thing Martin hopes changes from last year is fan attendance. “One of the benefits of playing in Whitecourt has always been the passionate fanbase. It’s also a hard building to play in from a visiting standpoint. Unfortunately, Covid derailed that a bit. But, you look back to the playoffs last year, and the fans came back, and we are hoping we can start the year with that same kind of energy in the building. More than anything, we are looking for fans to get back into the rink and support our group.”

One new thing for this year is the updated logo. Martin said that change could be hard sometimes, but he can’t wait for fans to see the new jerseys. “I like it, and I think it’s a good change. I’ve seen the new jerseys, and they look pretty sharp. I think a lot of people are excited about the change. It probably caters more to 2022 than 2010. But that being said, there are many traditionalists, and many players are loyal to the other logo. I don’t think you’ll ever make everyone 100 percent happy.”

Fans will see the brand new jerseys featuring the updated logo during the first home game of the 2022/2023 season on September 23 against Fort McMurray. The season officially kicks off on the road against Lloydminster on Friday, September 16. Those interested in becoming billets are encouraged to contact the team.

The final score between the Whitecourt Wolverines and Korea University was 3-0, a W for the home team. Following a friendly shake, the Korean players lined up, faced the crowd, lifted their sticks above their heads and bowed. The hometown fans cheered for them, thanking them for travelling to Whitecourt for the once-in-a-lifetime game.