Blaquiere happy to be home

“That was a long time ago. I’ve been hit and bumped a few times since then,” he joked after practice on Tuesday. “Being the youngest, I kind of got a little bit physical with siblings and I brought that out on the ice and that’s the way I played my game through most of my years.”

Most of his siblings kept playing.

His sisters are both alumni of the AAA Battlefords Sharks, and Ashley also coached them for a few years.

His brother Joel, one year his elder, played midget AAA on the Prince Albert Mintos and they both played together in La Ronge for two years as well.

But his eldest brother Jordan, now 28, didn’t play at a high level. Jared believes it wasn’t for a lack of skill.

“He didn’t follow the hockey dream – he was a good hockey player but he never followed the hockey dream like me and my other brother did,” Jared said. “But I looked up to him most – followed him around definitely the most.”

Jared’s father Roger, who coached him throughout minor hockey, was also a big influence on him and still is.

At various points in his youth and junior hockey career, Jared considered not playing anymore. But he also knew his dad wanted him to keep going.

“I just like to make him happy,” Jared said. “[He] wanted me to play midget AAA. I wasn’t going to play and I ended up playing and winning a national championship. Then [I] was going to pack it in after midget and end off on a high note but instead I kind of felt bad because he wanted a kid to play junior hockey.

“I just wasn’t going to play – just didn’t like hockey as much as I do now. I really enjoy it now.”

After winning that midget AAA Telus Cup championship with the Prince Albert Mintos in 2014, Jared was eventually convinced to go to La Ronge with his brother Joel and good friend Zach Nedelec, also from Edam, to try out for the Ice Wolves.

All three made the team.

With his brother graduating from junior at the end of last season, it was only fitting that at this year’s trade deadline, the Ice Wolves were able to pull the trigger and send Blaquiere and Nedelec on a homecoming of sorts to North Battleford.

“No kidding, it all works out,” Jared said. “I’m back in North Battleford and [dad] can come watch me every night I have a home game.

Initially, Jared was told a trade to the North Stars wasn’t going to happen.

He had a feeling he was going to be moved somewhere, given that La Ronge was considerably out of a playoff spot and he was in his final season.

His top two choices were Battlefords and Humboldt.

“Coach called me in on Jan. 9 and said a Battleford trade was off the table and I probably wouldn’t be going there,” Jared recalled.

That was a day before the deadline.

Then, Jared got called in before practice on the morning of Jan. 10.

“I went in there about 9 o’clock and [coach] said, ‘We worked out a deal. You’re going home,’” Jared said. “And I said, ‘What do you mean I’m going home?’ And he said, ‘You’re going to North Battleford and you’ve got a travel buddy with you.’”

It turned out that travel buddy was Nedelec.

Jared and Nedelec aren’t the only Edam natives on the North Stars.

There’s also Reed Delainey, who played alongside Blaquiere since the trade.

Although Jared has two assists in his three games as a North Star, both of those have come on the power play and didn’t involve Delainey.

But if both of them focus on what they’re good at, Jared thinks things will work out.

“He’s the fastest guy in the league pretty much, he can really give her, so if I do my job and take the body, he can take the puck and he can go score all he wants,” he said. “If I’m not physical then I’ve got to be making smart passes. I like to move the puck, pass the puck. I’m not much of a goal scorer but definitely being physical and passing the puck.”

Although Jared is in his final year of junior, he isn’t thinking too much about the future because he wants to focus on this year’s playoff run.

The NCAA is a goal, but because his numbers dropped with La Ronge this season, he’s not sure that’ll still be an option.

“I don’t know if the NCAA route is still there,” Jared said. “That would be my first option for sure. I’d love to go there. It’s any kid’s dream to go NCAA but I just have to take my time and play it out. I’m just focused on winning a championship in North Battleford first and whatever comes from there, I’ll definitely take it.”

Nathan Kanter is battlefordsNOW’s sports reporter and voice of the Battlefords North Stars. He can be reached at Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca or tweet him @NathanKanter11

by Nathan Kanter

Blaquiere happy to be home

What's Trending