David Arduin celebrated his 20th birthday with a homecoming skate on the ice surface where it all started for him.
Arduin, joined by his Trail Smoke Eaters teammates, held a public practice at the Sunshine Coast Arena last Friday afternoon. The team was on its way to Powell River Saturday for game two of their three-game road trip. Following the practice, Smokies coach and general manager Tim Kehler held a coaching clinic for minor hockey coaches. Then the team headed to Arduin's Halfmoon Bay home where his parents hosted the team for a meal and birthday celebration.
Trail took two out of three games and four of six points on the trip. They started with a 3-2 win over Merritt Thursday night, tripped up Powell River 5-2 Saturday and lost 4-2 Sunday to Alberni Valley. Arduin picked up one assist against the Kings to bring his team leading point total to 65 (29 goals, 36 assists).
Trail sits in third spot in the Interior Conference - four points back of second place Vernon, two up on Salmon Arm and three up on Prince George.
Spots three through six are still up for grabs with a few days to go in the regular season, a fact that is weighing heavily on the assistant captain from the Sunshine Coast.
"We're in a dog fight. It's must win every night. Even though we still have a few games left before the playoffs, it's almost like we're already in the playoffs," said Arduin. "We're playing pretty good right now, but we have to use these last few games to hopefully keep third place, keep home ice advantage and keep up the intensity. I'm really looking forward to the playoffs. I think we can do some serious damage."
Arduin said he was thrilled to come back to the Coast and showcase his home to his teammates.
"It's always good to be back. It's a pretty special opportunity to come back to my old rink," he said. I think the guys are excited to be here. It was important to get the first win in Merritt. The guys are excited for me and excited about coming over here."
Arduin's mom Luba was reported to have broken out the "secret family lasagna recipe" for the team meal.
"I think there's more buzz and excitement around that than the practice, but we'll see," Arduin said with a smile. "As soon as I saw the Powell River game on the schedule and saw that it was close to my birthday, I knew it was going to be kind of special. To show off the community and spend some time with family is really nice."
Kehler said the team has been looking forward to the trip.
"Travel is a big competitive issue for us. There is no close rival for us, so building a travel day into the trip was important for us," Kehler said. "It works out terrific that David has his roots here and allows us some practice time in his old stomping ground.
"David has had a tremendous year for us. Essentially he needs to continue to perform at a high level for us. We've shown that we can beat anyone and we've got as good a chance as anybody to go a long way in the playoffs."
Arena programmer Tom Poulton was pleased to see so many coaches and youngsters come out to the arena for the practice.
"It's a great opportunity for the Sunshine Coast to see what a junior hockey team is like, to see them practice and also get a chance to see David, which is cool for everyone," Poulton said. "It's just too bad we can't do things like this more often."
