Marty Westhaver is a rare breed nowadays.
Nearing the end of his fourth full season with the Victoria Grizzlies, he鈥檚 by far the longest-serving member of the sa国际传媒 Hockey League club.
And he鈥檚 a true local player having been born and raised in Victoria, including graduating from Spectrum Community School.
He also has that rare knack of scoring a big goal when his team needs it most. Need a late goal to tie the game, Westhaver usually comes through for you. Need an overtime or shootout winner? Westhaver loves the spotlight. And in last season鈥檚 Grizzlies鈥� playoff run to the BCHL final four, 鈥淏ig Game Marty,鈥� as he became known, scored eight goals and eight assists in 13 games before being injured in Game 1 of the conference final against Prince George and missing the rest of the series.
This week, the 20-year-old Westhaver accomplished another big goal of his, accepting a scholarship offer from the University of Alabama-Huntsville to play NCAA Div. 1 hockey next fall.
鈥淥h man, it鈥檚 been a real long road, but I finally made it,鈥� Westhaver said Thursday as his Grizzlies prepare for this weekend鈥檚 three-games-in-three-days road trip to Chilliwack tonight, Coquitlam on Saturday and Langley on Sunday.
鈥淚鈥檓 super excited about the opportunity in Huntsville, my family is really happy, and I owe them a lot for the sacrifices they made. And the Grizzlies franchise has been unbelievable to me from Day 1 and I just can鈥檛 thank them enough. It鈥檚 been a hell of a ride.鈥�
It helped that there will be a familiar face in Huntsville when Westhaver suits up for the Chargers, who play in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, alongside the likes of Bowling Green, Minnesota State, Northern Michigan, Ferris State, Alaska-Anchorage and Bemidji State. Dayne Finnson, who played two seasons on the Grizzlies鈥� blue line, is in his second year at UAH.
鈥淚 talked to Dane and he loves it there and it sounds like a real good hockey program,鈥� Westhaver said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not totally sure what I鈥檓 going to study but I鈥檒l finalize that soon.鈥�
There鈥檚 plenty of other former Grizzlies scattered throughout the conference.
鈥淵a, Justin [Michaelian] is at Ferris State, Drayson [Pears] at Alaska and Zack [Rose] at Bowling Green, so it鈥檚 going to be great to see all the guys again.鈥�
When Westhaver arrived on the scene with the Grizzlies after playing for Peninsula in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, he was just a 17-year-old who could skate like the wind but needed to learn the ins-and-outs of junior hockey. He was a quick learner. Last year, he scored 16 goals in the regular season and this year he鈥檚 already got 18, to go along with 26 assists. His point total is second only to star rookie Cody Monds鈥� team-leading 50. But it was more than just his scoring prowess that made Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon make Westhaver the easy choice as team captain this season.
鈥淢arty has been a solid player for us over the past four seasons,鈥� said Didmon.
鈥淗e has been that player who can change the game with his speed. And when a momentum change in the game is needed, you know he鈥檒l come out with his high speed and physical change.
鈥淎nd this year he has added more tangibles to his game, showing more creativity. We鈥檝e always known Marty is a big moment in the game guy, and now he has been a great captain for us and has had a positive impact on our team and in the community for four seasons.鈥�
As Westhaver said, his work is far from finished with the Grizzlies. Victoria is in the thick of jostling for playoff positioning in the crossover wild-card race. The Grizzlies (20-29-1) have won four of their past five games and hold the first of three wild-card positions which would see them face the third-place team in the Interior Division in the first round of the playoffs.
But this weekend provides stiff competition. Coquitlam (41-8-2), Chilliwack (24-16-10) and Langley (21-25-3) are first, second and fourth, respectively, in the Mainland Division.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a good weekend for us to see where we鈥檙e at because we鈥檝e been playing pretty good hockey these last few weeks,鈥� said Westhaver.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 seen Langley yet but Coquitlam is Coquitlam, top of the league, and Chilliwack is always tough in their building so we鈥檙e going to have be on our game again.鈥�
