A Sylvan Lake product went in the second round of the Western Hockey League draft last week.
Talon Brigley, 15, went 24th overall to the Red Deer Rebels at the WHL Bantam Draft on April 22.
The forward says it was an honour and “very exciting” to get picked by the Rebels after growing up so close to the team and watching them play.
“I’ve been dreaming about playing for the Rebels ever since I was five or six,” said Brigley.
Brigley played hockey in Sylvan Lake from dynamite through to peewee and says they were the best years of his life.
“It’s a great hockey set up here and a great organization that they set up and it was fun,” added Brigley.
During his time in Sylvan Brigley sported both a Lakers and a Tigers jersey before suiting up for the Red Deer Rebels Bantam AAA team in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League in 2018.
In his two seasons with the Rebels Bantam AAA team, Brigley knocked back over a dozen goals each season, including several during playoff games.
“The town of Sylvan Lake definitely developed me really well through my hockey career that I had there and It’s definitely an honour to be from here and I’m really looking forward to getting started with the Rebels,” Brigley said.
Going into his rookie year, he explained, he is looking forward to the experience, getting to play in front of bigger crowds and meeting new guys.
“It’s not just kinda from your own town, they’re from all over Canada and even the United States, Russia, I think that will be pretty cool.”
He says he talked to lots of teams who seemed interested and he wasn’t sure where he was going to end up going.
“Once Red Deer came around I kind of had a feeling I was going there and it kind of worked out good,” said Brigley.