The Cowichan Valley Capitals’ prolific and popular captain had a few pearls of wisdom as the team got together for the last time following a disappointing season.
“You have to savour every moment because it goes by very quickly, I know that,” Troy MacTavish said at the team’s awards banquet.
MacTavish, a 20-year-old Ottawa native who has completed his junior career, said the season was not without its positives.
“I’m pretty proud of the group we had. Obviously it wasn’t the success we wanted on the ice but I’m proud of the way that we all stuck together and were able to battle through a ton of adversity together.
“We came with our best effort every night. We all grew together,” MacTavish said.
MacTavish took home the Lions Club of Duncan leading scorer trophy on the strength of his 13 goals and 25 assists in 58 games. He also won the Cowichan Valley Citizen Most Popular Player Award.
The Capitals thanked Dr. Bob Anderson for his two decades of service to the team with a Special Recognition Award.
Francis Joe received the Jeff Price Memorial Trophy after being named the Volunteer of the Year.
Coach Brian Passmore presented 20-year-old awards to graduating players Simon Chen, Tate Coughlin, Andrew McCann and MacTavish.
Chen also received the Vivian Young Academic Achievement Award. Goalie Michael Corson took home the 3-Star Award and was named Most Inspirational Player. Jonathan Stein was named Most Sportsmanlike Player, and Boo Grist was named Most Improved. Nicholas Wilson received the Unsung Hero award, and Tate Coughlin took home the Coaches Award.
Andrew McCann was named the Top Gun Defenceman, and Marshall Skapski was named Top Defensive Defenceman. Ethan Scardina claimed both the Rookie of the Year and Faceoff Awards.
Passmore had high praise for what he called a “good group of kids” who never had to be asked twice when it came to going out into the community for school visits or fundraisers.
“Playing junior hockey will be some of the best memories of your life. You learn from failure and even though we had a lot of injuries the guys never used it as an excuse,” Passmore said.
“Plan your goals and become stronger as you learn from your failures.”
As for next year, Passmore said, “We’ll come back stronger next year.”
