The Nelson Leafs may have had a quick end to their season, but one of their senior players has been given an opportunity for a bright future on the ice.
Former Leafs defenseman Jonathon Petrash will be making the move to our southern neighbour for four more years of hockey.
“I’m going down to Michigan to play NCAA hockey down there,” he said.
Petrash said he’s been in contact with scouts from Michigan since a game in Kimberly and now he’s all set to attend the school.
“I’m really excited about it, I was a little nervous at the end of the last game wondering what I was going to do and where hockey was going to take me and luckily this came up and now I have at least four more years left.”
Petrash will be studying business and accounting, but says that he would also like to do some firefighting training.
“Right now I’m just taking it year by year. I do definitely want to go pro hockey one day maybe but right now I have four years down at the college and we’ll see what happens after that,” he said.
Petrash said that being with the Nelson Leafs has been a stepping stone for his hockey career.
“I’ve definitely matured as an individual both on and off the ice and I feel like I’ve become a better person for it. The skills and tools that they’ve taught me with both education and working — it’s something I’ll carry through my whole life,” said Petrash.
“The town, the fans, the coaches were all great to me… I’ll definitely miss the times in Nelson, but other things are ahead and I’m excited for it.”