They may not be brothers, but they sure play like it on the ice.
The closest thing Smithers has to the Sedin twins, Brendan deVries and Brayden Taekema are coming home this week after a successful season with the Junior-B Campbell River Storm.
Successful might be an understatement.
DeVries led the entire Vancouver Island Hockey League in scoring, taking home the Most Valuable Player and top forward awards, while his linemate Brayden Taekema finished with 79 points, good enough for fourth in league scoring.
“Talk about chemistry on the ice, I don’t think I have ever seen anything quite like that before,” head coach Lee Stone said. “Brayden puts the puck in the net and Brendan is the one that makes the plays. They are so good off the cycle, they really remind me of the Sedin twins.”
The Campbell River Storm were eliminated from playoffs in the second round, but not before posting a team record 30 wins, up from 12 the year before.
Brendan and Brayden were a huge part of the team’s improvement.
“What really impressed me about these kids is their attitude,” Stone said. “They showed up, worked hard and were a big part of the community as well.”
The two went to Campbell River this season after spending the last two years playing for Sicamous.
Before that, they spent their entire minor league careers, from atom all the way to midget, playing on the same line.
“We’ve played together for so long, we just know each other well on the ice, and we compliment each other really well,” Taekema said.
Now, both are leaning towards packing up the blades for a while.
Taekema is heading home to tree plant for the summer, before heading out to travel.
“It’s hard to say whether or not I am going to miss it,” Taekema said. “I think I’ll miss the camaraderie for sure.”
While deVries is mulling over a dozen scholarship applications, but may also take the year off hockey.
“I’ve got a few offers, but I am still thinking about what to do,” deVries said.
The two may find themselves in Steelheads colours sometime in the near future. DeVries, would be a natural fit with the family connection already on the Steelheads.
“Right now, I’m not too sure whether or not I’ll play for them next season, but it’s definitely an option,” deVries said.
Both credit the coaching they received growing up in Smithers, from coaches.
“Growing up, we had great coaches, Tom DeVries, my dad Wilf, Mike DeVries, they all gave us the know how to play hockey, they were a really big influence,” Taekema said.
