Aaron Greyeyes was set to join the defending Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) champions, the Battlefords North Stars, but a trade re-routed him north.
He started his SJHL career with the La Ronge Ice Wolves, a team that has only managed 22 wins in 116 games over the last two seasons.
That didn’t deter Greyeyes, who said he was excited to find out he would be hanging his hat in the northern community.
“The community is right behind us,” Greyeyes said.
“We’ve been to a couple of charity events so far and a powwow — it was just fun.”
Greyeyes said the team has a lot of talent.
“We have a lot of big guys, a lot of scorers, a lot of playmakers,” he said.
“It just all comes down to coming together and just buying into it.”
Greyeyes also excels at Canada’s other national sport, lacrosse.
He represented the Iroquois at the World Junior Lacrosse Championship this summer, after being dealt from the Saskatchewan SWAT.
Greyeyes played in Ontario for the Six Nations Arrows, where he felt he had more opportunities to be a creative playmaker.
“They know how to move the ball, it’s a much (faster) pace than over here,” Greyeyes said.
“Over here I noticed that it’s more like system play, but over there it’s like improvising.
Greyeyes is not the only new face with the Ice Wolves.
Kevin Kaminiski, the team’s new general manager and head coach, is expressing the importance of work ethic, and accountability.
So far, he likes what he has seen from Greyeyes.
“He’s got the whole package together, and he’s off to a good start,” Kaminiski said.
“He’s getting that confidence … as an individual getting better every day in practice and pushing yourself to the limits, and that will carry over into games.
“It will just become natural for him to become a dominant player at this level.”
In six games this year, Greyeyes has two goals and an assist.
The key for him, Greyeyes said, is to buy-in to the system.
“New team, new year, new us, we just got to all buy-in and get ‘er going.”