The Waywayseecappo Wolverines are excited to announce that Josh Thompson of Russell, Manitoba has signed a Letter of Intent for the 2021-22 season.
Thompson, 17, was one of the two Wolverines auto-protect picks from the 2018 MJHL Draft. Thompson has been playing for the Parkland Rangers of the Manitoba Under-18 AAA Hockey League this season, where he had four goals and three assists in seven games before the season was stopped because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Fans from the Russell area might also remember Thompson playing for the Major Pratt Trojans for two seasons from the 2018-19 campaign to the 2019-20 season. In the 2019-20 season, he scored 28 goals and 45 points in 20 games during the Westman High School League Regular Season.
Being from the area, Thompson says he went to plenty of Wolverines games when he was a kid and has been going back to the Waywayseecappo Communiplex for the past couple years.
“It will certainly be a dream come true when I put on that Wolverines jersey for the first time,” said Thompson. “I’ve always watched them and hoped I would be playing for them one day.”
He says his family is very excited to be able to come out to games since it will be a short drive for them to come watch.
Wolverines fans will remember Josh’s brother, Ryder, playing for the team earlier this season, before the league paused.
As for his playing style, Thompson says he hopes he will bring some physicality to the lineup and he will be working hard and make it hard on the opponent on every shift.
Wolverines Head Coach Taylor Harnett says Thompson has been getting better every season since his draft year.
“In this year’s September Main Camp, Josh really showed us he was really going to push for a spot in the near future,” said Harnett. “He gained some size and his skillset improved significantly, and we were excited to see him play for the Parkland Rangers this fall. After speaking with the coaching staff from the Rangers in September, Troy Hickman and our staff were confident Josh would be put in a position to develop and succeed with Parkland”
Thompson is still looking forward to getting back on the ice this season with the Rangers, but for the time being he has been skating with friends on an outdoor pond in Russell for at least a couple hours a day.
“Our coach is texting us every day, and at this point I’m just looking at getting back on the ice and playing some real hockey.”