One of the highlights of this hockey season for Calgary Hitmen first-year player Layne Toder came off the ice.
The Western Hockey League team stopped in Toder’s hometown of Elkhorn for a meal. The community is well known for putting on amazing meals for athletic squads traveling through. Not all of them get a personal tour from a hometown star though.
“It was special to go back. I got to show them a little bit of the town. … It is good to go home,” said the son of Jolene and Curtis Toder, who noted his mom sent snacks for the team to enjoy on the bus.
This winter Toder has earned an important role on the blue line with the major junior Hitmen after playing his rookie season in the Junior A Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
“Like most first-year players in the WHL, there is a learning curve they go through,” Hitmen head coach Dallas Ferguson said. “The WHL is a very good league filled with great players that force you to be your best day in and day out.
“Layne’s first season with the Hitmen has gone well. He has been given an opportunity to play in all situations and he has responded well to the opportunity he has been given. His growth from day one of the season to now has been tremendous and we are excited to have Layne in our organization.”
Coachable teammate
A six-foot, 173-pound defenceman, Toder has turned heads with his smooth skating ability. This has allowed the 2000-born player to be an effective defender as well as an offensive contributor. In 50 games, Toder has one goal, nine points, and 47 penalty minutes. The Hitmen feel this is just the beginning for Toder, who turned 18 in January.
“We are excited for Layne and his future with the organization,” Ferguson said. “He has a great skill set, but even more impressive is his tremendous character. He is very coachable and has been a great teammate.”
Toder has certainly been enjoying his time with the Hitmen. Coming from Junior A where he played only in his home province, Toder said he has had to adjust to the longer road trips that take the Hitmen all over Western Canada and into the United States. He also said that the pace of the game is quicker.
The Hitmen are owned by the same group as the NHL’s Calgary Flames, CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, and the NLL’s Calgary Roughnecks. Toder said the organization treats all of the players very well. Three of the organization’s Calgary teams play in the Scotiabank Saddledome. Toder said it is great to practice and play in an NHL rink.
A couple highlights of the hockey season for him have been the Hitmen’s home opener and the team’s annual teddy bear toss. A reported 24,605 stuffed toys were thrown onto the ice after the Hitmen’s first goal.
“It was pretty surreal to see all those teddy bears and it was for a good cause,” Toder said.
The stuffies are divided up between 60 local agencies. Some are later hand delivered by players to places like the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
Toder’s love for hockey developed while growing up in Elkhorn. In a Brandon Sun interview earlier this season, he noted the community has great coaches like Garth Mitchell and Dennis Kyle. Toder went on to play bantam and midget hockey in the Yellowhead Chiefs system for Craig Geekie, who played in the WHL for Brandon and Spokane Chiefs.
Last winter Toder had a memorable junior rookie season as a 16-year-old. He posted 11 goals and 28 points in 44 games for the MJHL’s Portage Terriers. Toder earned MJHL All-Rookie Team honours. Along with fellow Elkhorn product Josh Martin, he helped the Terriers win the MJHL championship.
For this season, Toder joined the Hitmen. The squad drafted him in the fourth round of the WHL Bantam Draft in 2015. No matter where he has played, he has had the backing of his family.
“They have been major supporters. Without them, I wouldn’t be anywhere,” Toder said. “They’ve driven me hours around Manitoba and across Western Canada now.”
