Centreville goalie seeks gold at worlds

By Patrick Moore
Special to the Kings County Advertiser
NovaNewsNow.com
TQS Contributor

Brandon Whitney hopes to take home gold from the world under 18 tournament in the Czech Republic after a disappointing playoff appearance.

The Centreville native said he is excited to play for Canada.

"It's my first time to Europe. Looking forward to the tournament. It's an honour to play for Canada and I expect it to be fun."

Whitney played in three playoff games for the Victoriaville Tigres, giving up 12 goals in the short series.

The Tigres were considered one of the top contenders in the QMJHL playoffs, but they fell very short of a championship or a spot in the Memorial Cup after the 13th place Baie-Comeau Drakkar eliminated the Tigres in four games in the opening round.

"It was a big surprise. We really didn't give our all this year. Hopefully next year will be a better run."

In the 36 games Whitney played in this season for the Tigres, he has 22 wins, four losses and four overtime losses.

At least one of Whitney’s opponents is not surprised to see he got a spot on Team Canada.

“He’s a big kid that covers a lot of the net. He has very good work ethic and deserves that spot on the U-18s,” said P.E.I. Rocket forward Ben Duffy.

Tigres manager Jérôme Mésonéro said he hopes international experience will help Whitney play more consistently. He said it was inconsistency that eliminated the Tigres early in the playoffs.

“Our goaltenders failed in the first round, I don’t want to say that. But next year will be important. He needs to be more consistent next year. Hopefully we play better next year.”

Mésonéro also said this tournament will help Whitney going into his draft year.
“The main thing is that it’s for him, it’s his draft season. He worked hard all season, he had a good season.”

Whitney, who is ranked second for North American goalies, isn’t worried about the draft.

"I'm not really thinking about the NHL Draft right now. I still have a few weeks left of hockey, maybe. I will think about it after we're done."