It wasn’t something that Ben Roulette didn’t expected to receive at the Waywayseecappo Wolverines awards banquet at the conclusion of the season, but it was a moment he won’t forget when he was given the Captaincy for Team Manitoba for the upcoming National Aboriginal Hockey Championships in Winnipeg.
“I was overwhelmed with excitement and was just such a special moment for me and my family,” said Roulette. “When all the (20-year-olds) presented it to me at the banquet it just made it even more special to hear it from those guys.”
Roulette will be wearing the ‘C’ when Team Manitoba kicks off their tournament against Team Eastern Door & North at the Seven Oaks Arena on May 8th.
It will be his second time playing for Team Manitoba at the tournament, playing last year in Membertou, Nova Scotia. The team ended their bid for a national championship in the Quarter-Finals losing to Eastern Door & North.
After a full season with the Waywayseecappo Wolverines, where he had six goals and six assists in 45 games, Roulette is hoping to build on his individual success from last year’s tournament. He had 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) in 7 games, finishing fourth in points and finishing first on team scoring in 2022. But at the end of it all, Roulette says winning gold is all he is gunning for this year.
“I’m really excited about the team we have this year,” said Roulette. We’ve only had a couple practices and have some coming up but everyone seems committed and starting to buy into their roles which is great to see early on. We 100% have the skill, grit, and goaltending to take us all the way this year and win a championship.”
Roulette will be on the team along with Darian Sinclair and Dayton Desjarlais, who are prospects for the Wolverines.
Sinclair had 9 goals and 12 assists with the Interlake Lightning of the MU18HL, and joined the Peguis Juniors of the KIJHL for their championship playoff run.
Desjarlais played with the Winnipeg Thrashers of MU18HL, and had 11 goals and 11 assists in 41 games this season.
Even with the excitement of the start of tournament right around the corner, Roulette knows how lucky he is to represent the province.
“It’s something not a lot of people get to do in their lives to be able to represent your province,” said Roulette. “As a team we all know how big of a tournament this is and we all are going to represent Manitoba with pride.”
You can follow Roulette, Sinclair and Desjarlais and Team Manitoba through our social media page and at https://nahc2023.ca/