Cave leading Bruins on and off the ice

“We’re a really close group of guys,” the former Battlefords AAA Star and Swift Current Bronco said in a phone interview. “We have a good time at the rink, away from the rink, on the road, so when you have that chemistry off the ice it moves into on-ice success.”

Cave has had a long and winding road to professional hockey, but it all started right here in the Battlefords, skating from a very young age on a farm just south of his house and on Jackfish Lake, where his family had a cabin.

“I can almost picture falling down the first time and having to get back up… at three or four years old, however old I was,” Cave said. “Hockey was always in the blood. My uncles and my dad [played] and it was just the sport to do. I was fortunate enough to have the parents that I did. Without them, I wouldn’t be anywhere I am today.”

Of course, a childhood in the Battlefords wouldn’t be complete without going to North Stars games, which Cave attended ‘all the time.’

It turned out he would only lace up his skates for a few games as a North Star, but that’s only because the Western Hockey League was awaiting him.

“As a kid, those are your superstars,” he said. “I remember the first time I ever laced them up for the North Stars, I saw a kid for a high five and I thought, ‘Wow, that was me not too long ago.’ It’s pretty special. Junior hockey gives you a taste of [how] you can make a kid’s day.”

Right before his two-year career with the Battlefords AAA Stars, Cave was taken in the first round of the WHL’s bantam draft in 2009 by Kootenay. But during his last season with the Stars, his rights were moved to Swift Current in a trade that brought veteran Cody Eakin – now with the NHL’s Dallas Stars – to Kootenay.

Cave remembers when he found out, as a 16-year-old no less, that he had been traded.

“We were in Regina…playing against the Pat Canadians and I looked at my phone after and…I saw a text from [my dad] and he said ‘You’re now a Swift Current Bronco,’” Cave recalled. “It took me a bit to process… and at that age, it’s going through your head ‘Why didn’t they want me? What did I do wrong?’ You start thinking of the negative things but after sitting down and talking to my parents and talking with both general managers of each team, it was just part of the trade.”

Cave improved in each of his first three seasons with Swift Current, including a 33-goal, 70-point season in 2013-14 as captain.

But he had yet to be drafted to the National Hockey League.

He attended an NHL camp in Arizona after that 70-point camp as a 19-year-old, but was told another year in junior wouldn’t hurt.

As it turns out, going back paved his path to Providence.

“It was a great decision, going back, having another great year, another year of captaincy, another year developing,” Cave said. “I can tell you right now, I wasn’t ready when I was 19 to go to the American Hockey League and one more year of junior definitely helped out a lot.

“[Swift Current] ended up being kind of a match made in heaven… and I had every opportunity that you can imagine on a hockey team. My coach Mark Lamb there, he gave me every opportunity to succeed and become a better hockey player and a better person. I can’t thank him enough. He’s one of the main reasons why I’m playing pro hockey right now.”

After a second-straight 70-plus point season, this time one with 35 goals, the 6’0”, 187 lb. forward inked an entry-level deal with the NHL’s Boston Bruins.

Cave remembers with great detail the day he was drafted to the WHL by Kootenay, when he was taken a couple rounds ahead of where he thought he might go. That day was cause for celebration.

But nothing, absolutely nothing, compares to the feeling of signing an NHL contract, which he did on April 7, 2015.

“It was surreal,” Cave said. “You dream of it as a kid and it’s nothing like what you expect. Putting the pen to the paper gave me goosebumps.

“It’s what I knew I wanted to do all year – I wanted to sign a contract at one point during the year. It was a stepping stone. It was an accomplishment for sure. But I’ve still got a long ways of making my dream of playing in the NHL come true.”

Despite being one of the youngest players on the team, Cave was named assistant captain at the beginning of the season.

He said it was a surprise.

“Coach called me in and he sat me and another guy down and said, ‘You guys have qualities of a leader and I’m going to tell you right now that you’re both going to wear a letter,’” Cave said. “My eyes just kind of opened up. I was kind of caught off guard. I didn’t really expect that, being a second-year pro…but it’s obviously another true honour.”

Life on the road as an AHL player, perhaps surprisingly, isn’t all that different from road trips as a junior player. Cave said you may not eat all your meals as a team, but it’s still just about hanging out with the guys and playing hockey.

Life at home, however, is quite different, and it’s something he’s still getting used to.

“In junior, you’ve got it pretty easy,” he said. “You’ve got a billet family at home who have to pay for virtually everything. They supply you with food and put a roof over your head. It’s pretty special. It was nice.

“[Now], you’re on your own. You’re living in your own place. You’re paying for rent. You’ve got all your bills. You’re looking after yourself. You’re an adult.”

And of course, after growing up on a farm, Providence, which is roughly the size of Saskatoon, also has taken some getting used to. Not to mention it’s nearly 4,000 km away from the Battlefords.

“Not seeing a cow everyday where normally I’d be waking up to seeing one on the farm…that takes a bit of adjustment,” Cave joked. “You get a little homesick but it’s not bad. Especially with technology we have nowadays.”

Cave may be thousands of kilometres away, but he’s still in the loop when it comes to the North Stars.

His parents try to make it out to a few games a year and the last thing he heard from his dad was exactly what he wanted to hear.

“I asked how the North Stars are doing and he said ‘Well, they can’t lose,’” Cave laughed. “The North Stars were a big part of why I wanted to play hockey and why I wanted to keep playing… so that’s a good sign.”

Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

@NathanKanter11

by Nathan Kanter

Cave leading Bruins on and off the ice

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