New Leaf captain Dunlap eager to lead by example
By Bruce Fuhr
Every team in every league enters a new season with dreams of success.
The Nelson Leafs hockey club falls into that same category.
However, a month into the season and the Leafs believe they are a little closer to enjoying that success at the other end of the rainbow.
Nelson holds down top spot in the Murdoch Division with a 4-1-1-1 record, one point ahead of surprising Spokane Braves, with the team returning to the ice Friday for a home date against the Chase Heat at 7 p.m. in the NDCC Arena.
“We’ve only lost one game (so far this year) and getting at least one point every night is huge for us,” said Leaf captain Aaron Dunlap.
“We’ve been able to stay near the top of our division so we’re just going to keep going.”
Dunlap heaps a lot of praise for the Leafs early season results on coach Dave McLellan.
The former Junior A skipper has been able to change the culture in the Nelson dressing room according to Dunlap.
“(Dave McLellan) is a professional coach with experience at the Junior A . . . BCHL level and he preaches about hard work and hitting,” the player temmates call “Dunnie” said after collecting a pair of assists in Nelson’s comeback victory last Sunday against Sicamous.
“All the guys are just falling into the systems and it’s working really well for us right now.”
The 6-foot, 180-pound American born Dunlap said the players are like kids in the candy story, eating up what McLellan has to offer.
“Dave’s a great coach and knows exactly what’s he’s talking about,” Dunlap said.
“He’ll explain something and we’ll just go do it on the ice and it will work . . . like taking candy from a baby.
“It’s a total change,” he adds.
Dunlap was almost a no-show with the 2014-15 edition of the Leafs.
However, a phone conversation with the new coach changed the mind of the Alaska native to return to the Heritage City for his final season of junior hockey.
McLellan in turn rewarded Dunlap for his loyalty by naming the 20-year-old center the Leafs captain.
“I’m so happy to be captain of the Leafs. I just want to take these boys to a championship,” said Dunlap, finishing last season with 15 goals and 29 points. “It’s a good spot to be in and I just want to lead.”
“But having the “C” or having an “A” doesn’t make anyone any better than the next guy,” Dunlap added.
“We’re a team and we’re all in this together.”
LEAF NOTES: Nelson takes on a Heat team that has two wins on the season and sits last in the Doug Birks Division of the Okanagan/Shuswap Conference. However, Chase is coming off a win having defeated Princeton 6-4 in its last game. . . . Leafs added another player to the roster as coach Dave McLellan signed Aidan Geiger, who played last season in Fernie. In 47 games, the 6-foot, 150-pound forward from Calgary had 14 goals and 20 assists in 47 games. . . . Nelson takes to the road to face rival Castlegar Saturday in the Sunflower City. Nelson won the opening game between the two teams 5-3, September 13.
