Hometown hockey player Shane Hanna, a former SilverBack, returned home from Winnipeg, Man. this past weekend after his first NHL development camp with the Jets.
The 20-year-old defenceman scored four goals and 19 assists in 40 games this past season – his first season of Division One hockey at Michigan Tech University. He said the stands in Winnepeg were full of fans, even for the practices.
For now, Hanna is enjoying his summer at home and is planning to make his way back to Michigan Tech the last week of August. He will be joined in the Huskies’ lineup this coming season by two former SilverBacks, Alex Gilles and Evan Anderson.
Another former SilverBack, Landon Smith, just returned from from his hometown of Denver, Colorado, where the 20-year-old completed his first NHL development camp this past weekend with the Avalanche. Smith was invited to the camp by the Colorado Avalanche in May, after leading the B.C. Hockey League in scoring this past season with the SilverBacks, his first and only Junior ‘A’ campaign in Canada, during which he potted 43 goals and 40 assists for 83 points in 58 regular season games.
Smith is now preparing for his first season of NCAA hockey with the Quinnipiac Bobcats at the University of Connecticut.