Two peewees head to international hockey tournament

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Two 12 year-olds, Dave Lamouche (Gift Lake) and Calvin Waquan (Fort Chipewyan), have a few things in common.

Both are Aboriginal, have been on skates since age four or five, played hockey since age five and now live in Edmonton.

More importantly, the two peewee hockey players were selected by the North West Zone Oilers to play in the 42nd annual Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament in Quebec City in mid-February.

In 1998, Lamouche played with Team Brick - mostly at left wing and sometimes at centre. He's been to Super Camps in the Okanagan and at Sylvan Lake, as well as having attended power skating school.

He's above-average in Grade 7 but undecided about what he wants educationally. Of one thing he is certain - he wants a shot at the NHL.

Last year he played with the High Prairie Hurricanes but moved to Edmonton in the fall.

His dad, also named Dave, claims his boy's got "really soft hands, is good at passing and shooting, has always been tops in goal-scoring and always played a level higher than his age group."

Calvin Waquan is no less a story. At 5'4" or 5'5", he's bigger than most his age. He, too, aspires to someday play in the NHL.

He plays all positions, said his guardian, Morris Kimball, who added, "he has soft, accurate hands, reads the ice super, has tremendous puck smarts, is a power house with lots of speed and has a hard shot." In most games, Kimball said, Waquan breaks at least one stick because of his power.

"Calvin always played Tier 1 teams, has zero attitude problems and is an extremely good athlete who is either captain, referee or umpire for school intramurals," added Kimball.

The two peewees were thrilled and excited about being selected to the team. The North West Zone Oilers are a combination of players from the North West Zone Hockey Club and the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club.

"They'll get to participate in about 10 games of hockey in front of approximately 10,000 or more fans," said the team manager Jon Read.

The team, he explains, has developed the "Adopt-an-Oiler" program that encourages individuals and companies to sponsor team members to the tournament. At $1,700 per player for this tournament, it is no small amount. The funds are required for costs such as travel, accommodation, meals and permits.