The Bow Mark Oilers have been described as a family this season.
And for two members of the Alberta Midget Hockey League team it’s more than a figurative reference as brothers Lucas and Liam Watkins are skating together on the same team for the first time in their careers.
“It’s meant a lot,” Lucas said. “He’s my little brother, it’s been fun so far through the first half of the year and it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do.
“We’re definitely supportive of each other, but there’s definitely some healthy competition, pushing each other to be the best we can.”
Lucas, the 2002-born alternate captain and big presence on the blueline, has helped make it a smooth transition for the 2004-born Liam – the youngest player on the team and only guy in his age group skating for the Bow Mark Oilers.
“It’s certainly a great accomplishment being the youngest on the team and playing in this league as a 15-year-old,” Liam said. “It’s my first time I’ve ever had the opportunity to play with my brother so it kind of motivated me a bit more because I really wanted to be on the same team as him this year.”
It’s helped immensely that Liam has entered a dressing room full of familiar faces.
“My brother played with these guys growing up through all of his life,” Liam said. “I knew their background, knew them as all friends, they would always come over and hang out for a bit so I would get to talk to them.
“Everyone gets along really well. We bonded at the start of the year and we’re pretty much brothers already.”
Liam, a 4th round pick of the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2019 Bantam Draft, has followed in the footsteps of Lucas for years with both players impressively owning Alberta Cup gold medals on their resumes in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
“He’s always pushing me really hard, like he pushes everyone else, he always wants me to get that next level,” Liam said. “He has that experience so I get to follow in his footsteps and do the same things he did.
“He’s a big body who’s not afraid to throw around the body, he’s really smart with the puck, he has a really strong shot and he makes a really good first pass out of the zone.”
Lucas extolled the virtues of his younger brother’s game, noting his on-ice vision in particular.
“I think he sees the ice really well and he’s got great patience with the puck,” he said. “He’s always one of the hardest workers on the ice, a good 200-foot player, defensively and offensively. I think that’s his strength being a 200-foot player.”
Liam has two goals and five points in 11 games for the Bow Mark Oilers as part of a well-balanced attack. Lucas has one goal and five helpers from the back-end.
They’ve been key cogs in what’s been a strong start for the Bow Mark Oilers.
Okotoks sits second in its division with an 8-3 record.
The Oilers doubled up the Airdrie CFR Bisons 6-3 on Nov. 7 for its Whiteout Game in support of Movember. The team raised $1,629 for its Movember campaign on the night.
On the ice, Ethan McKibbin and Boogie Blackwater led the way with two-goal efforts with Ivan Chtchadov adding the other.
Okotoks then closed the week in a 5-2 triumph over the Calgary Northstars on Nov. 9.
Sam Simard and Moe Hakim each scored a pair and Ethan MacIntyre scored his first of the season in the win.
“This year we’re a lot closer together, there were a few cliques last year that went their separate ways away from the team,” Lucas said. “I think this year we’re all pretty tight, we’re all staying together and no one is really drifting away from the team.
“Going back to our systems, we have a really fast team, we’re using our speed and getting in on the fore-check has really helped us so far.”
This week sees the Bow Mark Oilers host Red Deer on Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m. followed by a two-game road trip to the Edmonton region to take on Sherwood Park and the CAC Gregg Distributors on Nov. 16-17.
For more information on the team go to ooaaoilerhockey.ca
