Recruits - Feb 2006

[David Harding]

The recruits threads are getting long.  Let's break them up by month like the alumni threads.

[ithacat]

Makes sense...http://bigredpuckhead.blogspot.com/ cites the Merritt Herald as confirming that Brad Thiessen did visit Cornell last Friday. Not sure if that's already been reported.

[calgARI '07]

Whose website is that?  I would assume Pfibiger.

[pfibiger]

it's not mine, i figured it was ithacat's.

[Trotsky]

Whoever does it, it's a great site.  I've been reading it religiously since discovering it about a month ago.  Great work, whoever you are.

[ithacat]

...and I thought it could be Phil's -- he seems to hear things first.

[atb9]

Maybe Coach?  :-P

[pfibiger]

An article about Ben Scrivens from a local paper. It's offline now, so it's taken from the google cache:


      
Saints goalie inks NCAA scholarship

By Gord Montgomery
Staff Writer

Truth be told, nothing in the world of goaltending has ever been handed to Ben Scrivens on a silver platter. Everything he's gotten from the game of hockey, he's earned.
But that continued effort from the graduate of the Spruce Grove Minor Hockey program has paid off handsomely for this year's starting goalie for the city's Jr. A Saints, as he's accepted an athletic scholarship to an Ivy League institution, Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y.
"I don't think I'm anything special," Scrivens said while taking a break from watching his sister play with the female Timberwolves. "I just play my game and let my play do the talking. It doesn't really matter what level you're playing at as long as you're trying to get better."
Getting better is exactly what the netminder has done over the years. There was a time he couldn't get a job on a rep team, finally cracking that barrier in his last year of Midget hockey. He began his junior career in Drayton Valley, was traded to Calgary where he was a back-up tender and then moved again to the Grove last summer. Now, he's home. he's the No. 1 man and he's found his skills have blossomed to where others see value in having him wear their jersey.
"You don't have to be on the top-level team to learn to better yourself," he summarized.
The NCAA scholarship materialized mainly from his play this year, and came partly from when the Saints were on a winning streak early in the year when Scrivens carried much of the netminding load. Also, his play in the recent Viking Cup international tournament, where he helped his team to the gold medal win, played a key role. All in all, he agreed, it's been a pretty good season so far.
With all that has happened to him this year it's been a tough mental challenge as well as a physical one, he said. His play suffered for a bit but he appears to have rebounded strongly. That, he thinks, is perhaps because he's not worrying about anything now but playing, and winning hockey games.
"It's always in the back of your mind," he noted about wondering if someone's watching you. "Nobody tells you who's coming to the game (to scout). And when we were playing well, there were such high expectations to keep playing like that. As much as you don't want to admit it, there's always that pressure to play well.
"I don't know if it was the only reason, but it was a factor in the little slide we've had."
Scrivens finished his Grade 12 prior to stepping up to the AJHL, so he's never had to worry about the combination school work and hockey practices and games. Because the schools are geared toward helping athletes succeed, both in the classroom and in their sport, he's comfortable with the thought he can step back into a routine fairly easily.
"It's the same thing. You have to put the effort in to get the results."
Even though he now has the precious 'scholly' tucked away, the work isn't over for Scrivens. He says he needs to fine-tune his game and help the Saints find the winning track once again. However, he hasn't been told by his team-to-be to do anything in particular for the rest of this year.
"My understanding is if the school asks you to commit to them they like what you're doing. Obviously, Cornell likes what I'm doing. Now my focus is on the Saints this year and doing well. I'm just working on my work ethic and keep my game as high as I can. I want to get as far as I can this year and get everything out of it I can.
"Now that the pressure's off and I know what I'm doing next year, there's no pressure to perform as much. I mean, there's still the pressure to get better. They (Cornell) like the level I'm at but they still want me to push myself to get better."
And getting better is something that Scrivens has done for his entire hockey life and something he knows he can succeed at, so achieving it will be just another day on the job for him.

[ithacat]

[quote atb9]Maybe Coach?  :-P[/quote]

ok...maybe 2nd or 3rd or 4th...;-)