by Kathy Johnson
For the youngest member of Team Nova Scotia’s men’s hockey team, competing in the 2011 Canada Games was “really awesome.”
“It was a privilege to be selected to play is such a big event and to have the opportunity to be part of it,” said Brendan Nickerson, South Side.
The 14-year-old defenseman qualified for the provincial team last summer, and has spent the season playing with the Canadian Tire Mustangs in the N.S. Major Midget League, where he tallied seven points for the season.
While Nickerson is still a Bantam age player, he was bumped up to Major Midget to condition for the Canada Games.
At the games, Team Nova Scoria posted a 2-5 record to finish seventh overall.
“We were a hard working team and deserved everything we did,” said Nickerson, adding some “bad bounces” were the difference in the outcome of a few games.
“It was good to see all the top players in Canada,” said Nickerson, who posted several assists for the Nova Scotia squad.
With the games over and the season wrapped up for the Mustangs, Nickerson now has his sights set on fan camp in Montreal this summer where he plans to spend a total of four weeks honing his skills.
“This was a development year for me,” he said. “Next year will be a draft year so hopefully good things will happen.”
Nickerson has only been playing hockey for five years. “My grandfather (Garth Maxwell) got me into it.” he said. “He taught me how to skate. I learned a lot from him and from all the hockey camps I’ve been in.”
Nickerson spent the 2009/10 season playing Bantam AAA with the Yarmouth Mariners and will be back in the Mustangs’ line up next season.
The son of Douglas and Candace Nickerson, Brendan is a Grade 9 student at the Barrington Municipal High School.
