After winning two national Junior A hockey championships, Oak Lake’s Hunter Wallace is looking forward to trying to compete for a third.
Last season the son of Todd and Penny Wallace helped the Brooks Bandits win the Centennial Cup, 4-0, over the Battlefords North Stars in Portage. It was a third straight national title for the Alberta squad. Wallace had played a role in the 2022 victory and the squad won in 2019 before the tournament was cancelled for two seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the 2003-born Wallace will play one last junior season before heading to Merrimack College, which competes at the NCAA Division I level.
“I’m super excited,” Wallace said. “I’ve had the experience of winning two hockey championships. Now we know what it takes, and we’ve got a great group of returning guys, so I think it’s going to be a super fun year and I’m super excited to get back.”
Wallace persevered through injuries to play a big role in the Bandits’ Centennial Cup success. Early in the season he suffered a knee injury that required surgery and kept the forward out of action for about three months. In Brooks’ second contest at nationals, Wallace tweaked his knee. With the help of the team’s training staff, he said he was able to play through it. In the semifinals, he took a skateboot to the face. With medical attention, ice and ibuprofen, he was able to play in the Centennial Cup finals. Wallace scored the game-winning goal and recorded an assist. For the tournament, he had four goals and two assists.
“It was definitely a weird year … I think it’s easy to play through injury for the guys because they are so great,” Wallace said.
With the Centennial Cup being contended in Portage, Wallace had a contingent of family and friends in attendance. His siblings, KJ and Riley, as well as his parents were there to support him.
“To have them there and watch me win another national championship was a super cool experience,” Wallace said.
Even though he battled injuries, Wallace was a key contributor last season for Brooks. Bandits assistant coach Taylor Makin said the 5-foot-7, 165-pound alternate captain was on the team’s top line, first powerplay group, and penalty kill. In 28 regular season games, Wallace scored 20 goals and recorded an equal number of assists for 40 points.
“Hunter's biggest strengths are his character and his work ethic,” Makin said. “He is a very skilled player, who has a high-end shot and is an elite skater but what takes his game to where he is at today is who he is as a person. He plays with an edge and will put his body on the line for the team. ... Hunter is all about winning and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. He is a leader in our locker room and is one of our most popular players. His parents have done a fantastic job raising him and there is no doubt he will have success well beyond playing hockey.”
After his Bandits’ days are over, the next step in Wallace’s journey is slated to be at Merrimack College. The North Andover, Mass. school is located in the Boston area. Wallace committed to the Warriors during this past season.
“Boston is a super cool area,” Wallace said. “The Merrimack campus is super nice. I was able to attend a game – a sold out game. It’s hard not to want to play there after I watched that, so it was a pretty easy decision.”
