The Neepawa Natives are pleased to announce that they have gained a commitment from power forward Quentin Holmes of Thompson, Manitoba for the upcoming season.

 

Holmes (6 foot 2 and 1/2 inches and 195 pounds), who led The Norman Northstars to a first round upset of Interlake in the MBAAA playoffs, is a player the Natives felt they had to secure for next season.

 

"Quentin should have made our team last season," said Natives' coach Bryant Perrier. "In the whirlwind of our first training camp, we decided that being a 'go to guy' in midget would be best for him."

 

After a few days, Perrier and his staff realized they had made a mistake.

 

"We sent him back to midget to be a go to guy, and then we started looking at things here and decided that early in they year, he probably should have been a go to guy here."

 

Uncertain of how the final roster would play out, and settled nicely back into his hometown of Thomspon, Holmes remained a Norman Northstar - leading his team in scoring and serving as its captain.

 

While his offensive output last season serves as notice that Holmes is a great player, Coach Perrier says that there is more to the story.

 

"Quentin put up very good numbers last season on a team whose shortest bus ride was around 6 hours," he said. "The kid was getting off buses last season after 9-10 hour rides and going out and excelling. This is not your typical success story."

 

"That type of experience at a minor hockey level is rare, but will really be a great reference point for Quentin as we travel this season."

 

And while Holmes is used to travelling great distances to play hockey, The Natives staff is thrilled he chose to keep it local in his decision on where to play this season.

 

Described as "highly sought after" by Perrier, Holmes was recruited heavily throughout Western Canada but was adamant about being a Neepawa Native.

 

"There were a lot of teams really all over Quentin," said Coach Perrier, who called it "natural that a player like Quentin would be heavily sought after."

 

"All of our recruits have multiple choices on where they can play."

 

With the recruiting process so competitive, Perrier says that two things are discovered.

 

"First, you learn their sense of obligation when they have great programs all over them," he offered. "Second, you find out that your scouts are smart people when the guys you are recruiting are causing a frenzy."

 

Perrier and The Natives never got caught up in the recruiting sweepstakes.

 

"We are thrilled that our guys are highly sought after. It is healthy. Excellence is to be celebrated and recognition is vital to the self esteem of these players. We let the process work itself out knowing that Quentin loved our program and we counted on that being enough. All of the big offers are great, but we knew Quentin loved Neepawa and our program."

 

"It all worked out in the end."

 

 

Look to neepawanatives.com for information on further commitments throughout the remainder of the spring.