For the first time in his hockey career an Okotoks Major Junior defenceman is going to have to adjust to a home away from home.
The Calgary Hitmen shipped Okotoks native Keaton Lubin to the Regina Pats in exchange for a conditional sixth round pick in the 2014 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft on Sept. 5.
Lubin said he was merely a victim of a numbers game on a crowded Hitmen blueline featuring returning defencemen Jaynen Rissling, Spencer Humphries as well as newcomers Darian Henry and Josh Thrower.
“They just pulled me off the bus and had a little meeting,” Lubin said on how he heard the news. “It was a little setback at first, but for me I’m just embracing it.
“I’m going to try to do my best and use it as an opportunity that hopefully I can make the best of.”
The move to Regina marks the first time Lubin has been traded, and the first time he will be playing his hockey outside the Okotoks and Calgary area. Lubin came up through the Okotoks Oilers Hockey Association, and played Midget AAA with the Strathmore UFA Bisons before joining the Hitmen in 2010.
“It’s tough at first, you come into a whole new group of guys,” Lubin said on the emotional rollercoaster of being traded. “I’m a little lucky I know a couple of guys on the (Pats) so the transition is a little easier.”
Lubin played with new teammates Tanner Olstad with the Okotoks Oilers briefly in 2009, Travis Ouellette with the Bisons and has trained with Morgan Klimchuk at Crash Conditioning in Calgary.
Lubin endeared himself to the Pats by making a dream debut for the franchise. Lubin scored a snap shot from the point in a 5-3 loss in Brandon to the Wheat Kings on Sept. 7.
Living away from home is another situation alien to the product of Okotoks minor hockey.
With the exception of his 2011-12 season with the Hitmen, Lubin has lived at home all through his hockey career.
“Moving cities and for me living at home and moving seven hours away is different,” said Lubin who was living in a temporary billet house as of Friday. “It takes some getting used to for sure.
“It’s definitely a good opportunity to see what it’s like and everyone is told they have to grow up at some point.”
See Lubin on page 5
Lubin, drafted 66th overall in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft by Calgary, suited up in 50 games from 2010-12 with the Hitmen, registering two points and 39 penalty minutes.
“We would like to thank Keaton for two seasons in Calgary and wish him success with the Pats,” said Hitmen Executive VP, alternate governor and general manager Kelly Kisio in a press release.
The puck-moving defenceman said he went through some growing pains in his two years in Calgary.
“I definitely made some 16-year-old mistakes when I was 16 and some young mistakes on the ice,” Lubin said. “And I’m excited to get a fresh start on a new team.”
After spending parts of last season in Junior A, (he played 16 games with the Okotoks Oilers) when playing time in Calgary was hard to come by, Lubin knows how important the 2012-13 season is to establishing himself as an everyday WHL defenceman.
“Eighteen-year-old year is always definitely an impact season so for me to get a fresh start is awesome,” Lubin said. “I’ve got to take advantage of it.
“I haven’t really set any goals yet, just taking it one day at a time right now, it’s coming at me pretty fast right now.”
Lubin and the Pats make their first trip to Calgary on Dec. 7.
