Next stop: Sochi, Russia.
In a few weeks, Barrhead native Robert Kincaid will be going to the former Olympic city to represent Canada as part of an Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) all-star team at the Junior Club World Cup in Sochi, Russia from Aug. 23-31.
A team of players set to return to the AJHL will compete in the eight-team international tournament, featuring players from, Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S.
The 17-year-old was named to the team following the conclusion of the Camrose Kodiaks season shortly after being eliminated from the AJHL playoffs.
“I got a phone call from [head coach Boris Rybalka] out of the blue asking me if I wanted to come to Russia,” Kincaid said, adding it didn’t take him long to say yes.
Before leaving for Russia, the 25-member team will take part in a mini-camp in Camrose starting Aug. 11. A week later, they will leave for Russia going first to Moscow where they will play in two exhibition games before heading to Sochi.
“It’s going to be so cool. We will be playing in the same arena [Bolshoy Ice Dome] that they played in during the [2014 Winter Olympics] and then stay in the Olympic Village,” he said.
Kincaid is not sure what format what the tournament will use or exactly what role he will be asked to fulfill.
“These are the very best players from Alberta,” he said, adding he may be asked to play a role that he is unfamiliar with, noting he is one of 10 defencemen named to the squad.
Kincaid is an offensive defenceman and patterns his game after long-time Ottawa Senator and now San Jose Shark Erik Karlsson, as well as Vancouver Canuck rookie Quinn Hughes.
“It would be great if I got some time quarterbacking the power play, but I am willing to take on any role and do whatever I am asked to help Canada win gold,” he said, adding the coaching staff should be very familiar with how he plays.
Rybalka is Kincaid’s coach in Camrose. He will be joined behind the bench by the general manager and head coach of the Bonnyville Pontiacs. Although the two teams play in different divisions Camrose and Bonnyville have played each other several times.
This season has been a bit of a whirlwind, Kincaid said, noting he started the season with the St. Albert ‘AAA’ Midget Raiders, before being called up to play for the Kodiaks. However, he still had a chance to play in his favourite NHL arena, the Calgary Saddledome, and help the Raiders take home the Mac’s ‘AAA’ Tournament championship.
Although Kincaid welcomed the promotion to the AJHL, he said it did make keeping up with his studies a challenge.
He started his first semester in Grade 11 at a St. Albert high school and started his second semester at a Camrose school before transferring to Barrhead Composite High School in April.
“Some of my classes got mixed up when I got back [BCHS] but it all worked out,” Kincaid said.
Like many youngsters, Kincaid started his hockey career young, learning how to skate when he was three years old. When he was five, Kincaid played his first organized hockey game on one of Barrhead’s initiate teams.
By the time he reached the Pee Wee level, when he was 10 years old, Kincaid and his family decided that in order to bring his hockey skills to the next level, he needed to play against stronger competition, first in Morinville and then St. Albert.
“It has been a sacrifice, not only for me but my family. Moving away from Barrhead was a culture shock, to say the least,” he said. “But I’m glad they allowed me to do it and I couldn’t have done without the support of my family and friends.”
As for what his plans are for the future, Kincaid said after he returns to Canada with what he hopes will be a gold medal, and in the short term, he will continue working at improving his game and helping the Camrose Kodiaks win a championship.
In the long term, depending on the opportunities he is offered the choices are not as clear.
In 2017, when Kincaid was 14 years old, he was drafted by the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the ninth round of its bantam draft.
The WHL is a major junior hockey league based in western Canada and is considered to be the highest level a player can achieve in junior hockey. Two days before being selected for Team Canada he was drafted in the United States Hockey League (USHL) in the 13th round.
If Kincaid is presented and selects the WHL as an option, he would no longer be eligible to play for a college or university team.
“What I really would like to do is to be able to get a scholarship to a college or university,” he said.
