Heart and soul, determination, skill, tenacity, hustle, leadership, academic achievement, winner; any and all of these terms can be used to describe departing Lakehead hockey star Joel Scherban. Here, we will simply call himThe Captain.
The Thunder Bay native has been the new programs only captain for its first five years of existence and, not only did he become the face of Thunderwolves hockey and Lakehead Athletics, he helped to firmly establish Lakehead hockey in the community of Thunder Bay and build it into one of the top hockey programs in the CIS in a very short time.
Along the way, The Captain set towering individual marks, collected some impressive awards and hardware, and, most importantly to him, helped the Wolves to astonishing success in only five years as a CIS hockey program.
The Captains individual achievements make quite a reading list; Joseph E. Sullivan Trophy winner as the top player in CIS hockey, OUA MVP, five time OUA First Team All Star, CIS First Team All Canadian, CIS Second Team All Canadian, Two Time CIS and OUA Most Sportsmanlike Player, RBC Academic All Canadian, OUA Nominee for Randy Gregg Award, Lakehead Male Athlete of the Year, Captain of Team Canada (and tourney leading scorer) at Innsbruck Winter Universiade, and Lakeheads All Time Overall points, goals, and assists leader..
The Captain led his team to the playoffs in every year and won at least one playoff round each season. The team made it to the OUA Final Four three times and qualified for the CIS National Championships twice. This past season, the Wolves won their first Queens Cup OUA title and took silver at the CIS National Championships. Additionally, The Captain and his Wolves never lost a home playoff game in five seasons.
How important has The Captain been to Lakehead Hockey and Lakehead Athletics? Lets hear from a few people who have known him both as an athlete and a student.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau said The Captain has been the cornerstone and the catalyst for Wolves Hockey. I was Joel's head coach for the last five years and I can state that Joel has been the most complete student-athlete in my college coaching career of 15 years. He only missed three practices in five years of CIS hockey and those were due to exams and to visiting the doctor over his newly discovered Diabetes. He is the face of Lakehead Hockey and was our heart and soul for five years and came on as our first Captain in our teams first year in 2001-02 to establish the team in Thunder Bay. He put Lakehead University Hockey on the CIS hockey map with his leadership, hockey skills, character, sportsmanship, and student values. I believe he was the perfect ambassador as a CIS Student-Athlete and set the standard here at Lakehead which others in all sports now use to measure against.
Lakehead University President Dr. Fred Gilbert said The Captain was key to making Wolves hockey successful. Having Joel Scherban as the first captain of the renewed Varsity hockey program was special in many ways. Joel exemplified all those attributes one hopes for in a leader dependability, a strong work ethic, sportsmanship, and commitment. Furthermore, he was the classic student-athlete and assisted his team mates to balance the expectations of academia and of sport. He truly led by example and in so doing set expectations not just for himself, but for the team as well. The bar has been set high for the next captain and I would like to thank Joel for all that he has contributed to Thunderwolves Hockey. We couldnt have found a better representative for the University in these critical early years of the new hockey program.
Lakehead Athletic Director Tom Warden said The Captain set the standard for Lakehead players of the future. Joel Scherban personifies what a student-athlete should be. His dedication to his sport is only matched by his work in the class room. Joel was our<