William Shakespeare wrote, “Sweet are the uses of adversity, which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in its head.”
After a difficult 2014-15 campaign, the Wellesley Applejacks are certainly hoping to come away with the lessons and experience necessary to be better going forward.
With a record of 13-27, the Jacks stumbled through the regular season to an eighth-place finish in the Midwestern Junior C Hockey League, just above the winless Delhi Travellers.
The playoffs were even worse, as the first-place Ayr Centennials swept the Jacks in a best-of-seven series, posting an astounding 31-8 goal differential in just four games.
But now that the squad has officially wrapped things up with an awards banquet on February 26, management can start looking ahead to next year.
“The banquet was a good ending to the year,” team official Rick Grebinski said. “We were young going into the season, and while we never go into a season expecting to lose, being that our group was so young we knew that this would be a transitional year. We certainly didn’t expect to finish in the top four. But regardless, the group pulled through because they are a really good group of young men.”
Character has been a recurring theme all year for the Jacks coaching staff, which sought to help the younger guys make the jump from Midget hockey to the Junior C ranks.
It wasn’t always easy, with two coaches, first Jake Wilkinson in the fall, then Tim Robb at the end of the regular season, departing along the way.
But there were some significant individual achievements that were recognized by the club.
The Jack’s top scorer was Cal Jefferies with 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists). Jefferies was also awarded the league’s most sportsmanlike award.
The most valuable player award went to goalie Tim Bester, who posted a 3.80 goals against average and a .903 save percentage over eight wins and 16 losses.
Rookie of the year went to Alex Uttley who scored 10 goals and eleven assists after coming over from Ayr near the start of the season.
Justin Lebold took home the top defencemen prize and the coaches’ award, while Paul Morra received the most sportsmanlike and the unsung player trophies.
St. Clements native Sean McEwan got the top local player award, after notching seven goals and 11 assists in 36 games.
Tyler Seguin was selected the most improved Jack.
Finally, the special Jacks award went to Tom and Julian Shamuon for helping the club with dry-land training.
Looking ahead, there could be more changeover next season, as players determine where they want to attend post-secondary school or they decide to pursue hockey elsewhere. But Grebinski is optimistic.
“It really is cyclical when you look at it. Over the eight years I have been with the club, we have seen clubs rise and fall in the standings. But we’re fortunate to have a good foundation here with some hardworking kids that do a great job in the community. So we are looking forward to next season.”
