DOING THE MOST GOOD The Kroc Center Ice Arena. After helping Cydell enhance his athletic ability in the ice arena, Galea and other Kroc Center associates were able to get Cydell playing at more competitive levels. At just 15-years-old, Cydell was playing in an 18- 21-year-old junior-level league. He played in the league for 4 years and spent his off-season at The Kroc Center to continue training with Galea. After juggling the decision to play hockey at the collegiate level or professional level, Cydell decided to follow his dream and play professionally. During the summer of 2012, Cydell attended a 2-week ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) open camp for the Ontario Reign, a team in the Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League. After the camp, he was one of only four people that made the cut out of more than 40 players that attended the camp.
KROC CENTER HOCKEY PLAYER IS PLAYING HIS WAY TO THE NHL [BY JULIE WILLIS-Public Relations Assistant]
MAKING IT to the “big leagues” in any sport is a special place reserved for those with the highest level of determination, skill, athleticism and sportsmanship. Children starting out in a sport are often coached to build a strong athletic foundation that they will work into their adulthood . Kroc Center member and minor league professional hockey player Weston Cydell, 21, is a prime example of never giving up. He has loved the sport of hockey since he was in diapers. Now, with some help from Kroc Center coaches, he is now playing hockey at the professional level. In 2002, his father recognized Cydell’s potential to play hockey competitively and discovered The Kroc Center’s Ice Arena and its Saints Hockey Club, which strives to create an experience for young athletes that will positively affect them well beyond the players days by encour-
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aging, and developing, and administering the sport in a responsible manner. Cydell believes this program and the coaches helped him get to where he is today.
My coaches at The Kroc Center were really the ones that believed in me and encouraged me to take hockey to the next level. “My coach [Jason Galea] helped me see my true potential as a hockey player,” said Cydell. “He was really there for me, even off the ice. I could talk to him about anything.” Galea remembers watching Cydell play when he first came to The Kroc Center, and right away, he could tell that he was one of the most outstanding kids that had ever played at
However, the NHL lockout caused professional players to move down to lower levels in order to continue playing, which means that less spots became available for Cydell on the Ontario Reign. He is currently playing for the Louisiana Icegators, part of the SPHL (Southern Professional Hockey League). “He’s in a torturous situation because he has the motivation and drive to play at a higher level, but the NHL lockout iheld him back,” said Galea. “But at the same time, it’s almost a blessing because the league he is playing now is flooded with great talent because great players are being bumped down. It’s allowing Weston to play against them and improve his hockey game.” It is hard to say where Cydell will be next. He currently still has the dream and motivation to play professional hockey, and he hopes to be playing somewhere in the ECHL in the next few years. When asked where Cydell would be today if he never found The Kroc Center Ice Arena and the Saints Hockey Club, he said, “I probably wouldn’t even be playing hockey, I would just be going to school. My coaches at The Kroc Center were really the ones that believed in me and encouraged me to take hockey to the next level.”