A young Aldergrove man had a dream that most little boys in Canada have. The dream of playing hockey, maybe even in ‘The Big Show.’
Braydon Glinnum hasn’t arrived yet as an NHL goalie but he’s moving steadily up the ladder. And he’s just been named the rookie of the year in Alberta.
His mother Alison says, “Braydon wanted so badly to play hockey that we had to start him in the tiny tots skating classes with Aldergrove Figure Skating Club when he was not quite three-years-old. He skated his little heart out because he loved his hockey skates. (But) it was a little difficult to explain to him why he had to wear a tiger costume to play hockey when he was part of the year-end skating performance.”
Braydon was not going to have to do that again. He attended the National Training Rinks to help him learn more skills before he was accepted to Aldergrove Minor Hockey. And it began; Braydon started playing hockey, real hockey.
As most boys discover they have to play many positions before they settle into a spot they fit into. He was itching for his turn to play goalie. He got his wish when Coach Tim Stephenson suited him up. That was it, Braydon was hooked and would not give back the goalie pads. That was his spot and no one else could have it. A goalie was born.
Battling through the seasons, he played rep hockey, house hockey, rep hockey, house hocke,y until he finally stayed on the rep teams, whether A or B. He was always the underdog but he was happy to play.
Braydon went to goalie camps over the years to hone his skills, thanks to Ron Veit of Veit Goaltending School and Angelo Maggio of Magic Hockey. He also did the Aldergrove Secondary School Hockey program from grades 8-12.
His dream to play junior hockey was coming closer and closer. He tried out for teams when he became of age. Braydon never kidded himself about dreaming as high as the NHL because the odds of that happening are very slim but things can happen unexpectedly. He was very excited that Aldergrove had a junior B team come to this town, as thanks to the hard work of Rick Harkins, the Aldergrove Kodiaks were born.
Unfortunately, Braydon wasn’t quite ready for the Kodiaks when they first came, but he knew he was going to play for them. He was affiliated to them and then after a long hard spring and summer of 2010, he made the team. His dream ended just as quickly as it started, however, as before the season really began he was released by the team.
Falling into limbo, Braydon was almost going to give up hockey when he got the call to come to Sexsmith, Alberta. Coach Neil Magill of the NWJHL Sexsmith Vipers decided to take a chance on the young man who had the heart of the game, the skills for the game, but not yet the experience.
Coach Magill decided to give Braydon some experience and signed him to the Vipers. He was an unknown from a small community in British Columbia and signed to be the starting goalie for the Alberta Junior B team.
Braydon’s season was up and down but he ended the season as Rookie of the Year in the 2010-2011 NWJHL League.
He does share the honour with another player from Peace River, Josh Peters, but he finally feels validated as a contender for Junior A teams.
The Sexsmith Vipers congratulate Braydon on his success in the NWJHL, noting that, “Glinnum is an important part of the Vipers team by making unbelievable saves and keeping his team in the game.”
Glinnum’s stats for the season are: 1107 minutes played, with a GAA of 4.55, 809 shots in 20 games, and a save average of 0.896
The Vipers also finished the season with a win as they were able to take the “monkey off their back” with a strong win against the Grande Prairie Wheelers, a 4-1 score. Sexsmith has always had trouble with the Wheelers and have not beaten them in the last two years; every game was an emotional one for the Vipers. This win is a good first start for the Vipers as they head into playoffs.
“Our family could not be prouder of the boy who left B.C. and became a man in Alberta,” said Alison Glinnum. “Cheers, B-Ray.”
