Cochraneís Cody Boeckman still has five months of high school remaining.
But the 17-year-old Airdrie Thunder netminder is also preparing to lead his team into the Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) playoffs.
He has an 11W-3L-1T record in his first season with the Junior B club, with 2.92 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.
ìItís been a good experience here with Airdrie,î said Boeckman, who is from Golden, B.C. and moved to Cochrane when he was 13.
ìThere are a lot of good guys in this room. Itís a tight-knit group. Itís fun coming to the rink every night.î
The Grade 12 Cochrane High School student is one of the two youngest players on the Thunder this season, along with Harrison Harper, age 17. He played Bantam hockey in Cochrane for a year, then in Calgary for his second year.
Boeckman played Midget in Calgaryís northwest to begin last season before being called to play with the Three Hills Thrashers in the HJHL.
ìI think itís a pretty good league,î he said. ìI was pretty impressed last year, after not being sure what to expect.î
He has been sharing time in net with Logan Marlow for the majority of this season, but said it is a friendly relationship and that the team goals come first.
ìIt goes both ways. As a goalie, you obviously want to play every game ñ thatís just the way it is,î Boeckman said. ìBut I think we have a pretty healthy thing going on right now. As long as weíre winning, it will be good.î
ìHeís doing well and heís solid in the net,î said Thunder head coach Mike Carlsen. ìWeíre glad to have him this year. Heís in that role where when he gets called upon, heís getting us results. Heís technically sound, the guys like him, and heís a real positive player.î
Boeckman describes his style as level-headed and, despite his age and competing against players up to four years older than him, that he tries to keep everything relaxed.
ìI like to keep calm back there and try and calm down the whole defensive zone,î he said. ìI try to control my rebounds and just give the team a chance to win ñ thatís my main goal every time I get out there.î
The Thunderís final regular season game was against the Stettler Lightning, Feb. 3, after the Rocky View Weekly went to press. But Airdrie had already secured a playoff spot and will likely begin with a best-of-three series against the Mountainview Colts.
ìHopefully weíve got a good playoff push ahead this season,,î Boeckman said. ìIf we play like we can, we can be a really good team. Itís just a matter of everyone showing up, wanting to play and being ready to go. If we do that, I think weíll have a good shot.î
