Hometown heroes are sometimes few and far between in junior hockey. Being an island boy has only made Kade Pilton enjoy playing his first full season of Western Hockey League (WHL) hockey with the Victoria Royals that much more.
“I’ve been pretty lucky,” says Pilton. “I’ve had a few friends at the last few games and my family comes down to pretty much every game. Most of the guys are from pretty faraway places, so to be able to have your family close is a big thing.”
The 17-year-old, 6’5,” 186-pound defenceman hails from Parksville, BC and the benefits of playing hockey at such a high level while being so close to home isn’t lost on him.
Parksville is where Kade’s journey to the WHL began. At a very young age he played in the Oceanside Minor Hockey Association (OMHA).
“My parents signed me up when I was four or five, and I loved it from there,” says Pilton, who credits the OMHA, as well as the Fernie Ghostriders of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, where he played last season, to his success so far.
“They essentially got me to where I am today,” he says of the two organizations. “Obviously I had to work hard to get here, but I had great coaches and a lot of support from both organizations; I was really fortunate for that.”
Pilton tallied seven goals and 16 assists in 32 games last season with the Ghostriders; so far this season with the Royals he’s put up three goals and four assists over the span of 21 games.
“We’re doing some good things here and we’re really fortunate to have such great fans,” says Pilton. “It’s been a pretty special start to the season; we’re going to keep that rolling, hopefully.”
Pilton says he emulates the style of play of Alexander Edler of the Vancouver Canucks. “He’s a big defenceman and he puts up points and he’s also good in his own end, which is what I’m really trying to work towards,” he says.
Though Pilton recognizes that there’s still a lot of work to be done on the ice, he’s very grateful for the opportunity.
“It’s been great learning how to play the game from such great coaches and playing with such great players,” he says of his time with the Royals so far. “You can definitely learn a lot in a short period of time like that.”
Very well done Ken !!