Being the deciding factor in whether his team wins or loses is what Brandon Peacock of Quesnel lives for. Peacock, a goaltender who plays for the Okanagan Hockey Academy midget prep team white in Penticton has had quite a season so far.
“He’s worked hard and played very well for us,” Head coach Stu Barnes said. “He has natural ability because he is a big guy with a lot of talent and when he plays his game he’s a really tough guy to score on.”
Barnes a former National Hockey League player says he has the skill set that will translate to the next level.
“I think he will have a smooth transition because he is a big goalie with lots of talent and he continues to work on his game, so I think as he progresses moving forward the transition will be a good one for him,” Barnes said.
Peacock was drafted in the fourth round in the 2015 bantam draft by the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League and is always working on his game to reach the next level. So far this season he’s been rotating starts with Keenan Rancier, with both getting an opportunity to play.
“Right now we have been on a rotation basis all season long and both of our guys have worked hard together to be a great tandem, so they will both play around 25 games each,” Barnes said.
He says the Okanagan Hockey Academy is great for the players because it
helps them develop on and off the ice. “The Okanagan Academy programs have been really good because it blends school and on and off ice training,” Barnes said.
“All the academy teams have relationships with the schools to help the boys and make sure they get their school work done and do well. When they come into the rink they have practice and time in the gym for workouts and for the goalies they have a lot of specialized training to help improve their game, so they get a full spectrum of all kinds of training that helps them along the way.”
He adds with his experience in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars and the other coaches at the academy that players are constantly getting advice on how to develop their game.
“The good thing here is that some- one can always contribute something,” Barnes said.
“I was a forward, Robert Dirk played defence and Andy Moog was a goaltender and we all played in the NHL. We have a lot of guys that have had different experiences in different areas, so depend- ing what the players position is they can get help in a lot of areas.”
Currently Peacock has a record of 10 wins, two loses, a 2.67 goals against av- erage and a save percentage of .902 in 13 games. He is just another example of the talent the Quesnel Minor Hockey Association has produced.