Just minutes after a hard-fought 4-3 loss at home Saturday night to the Brantford Bulldogs, Beau Jelsma stood outside his coach’s office at Sadlon Arena praising his young teammates for their effort and refusal to quit.
Down 4-1 after the first period, the Colts battled back to get within a goal in the second and then pressed hard for an equalizer that, unfortunately for them, would never come.
Grabbing the leadership reigns, Jelsma wanted his young teammates to know that efforts like this one, while not rewarded on this night, will be eventually.
Exactly the leadership you expect from your captain.
“It’s tough, but the nice thing with this group is we never stop,” said the 19-year-old who was named the 25th captain in franchise history just before last night’s game. “We just keep fighting to the bitter end. Even the games we’ve lost or been blown out, we don’t stop. We keep going.
“When we get into playoff hockey, it’s really going to help us in the end. I just love how we respond.”
Raised on a farm, the hard-working third-year centre was a natural choice to replace former captain Connor Punnett, who was dealt to Oshawa earlier this week.
“It means everything,” Jelsma said of being named captain. “I’ve been here for three years, and I love this place and I love the fans. To put that ‘C’ on my jersey is an honour. I’m excited to lead these boys hopefully to some great things, so I’m just going to keep doing my thing and hopefully it goes well.”
For his coaches, Jelsma is someone that very early on embraced what it meant to be a Barrie Colt. A player who pIays the game hard and gives his best effort each and every night.
A player who takes time for kids in the community, be it making school visits, at the rink along with teammate Beau Akey as part of Beau’s Buddies where they have teamed up with Big Brother Big Sisters Barrie to bring members of the program to games and have them take in pre-game warmups from down on the bench.
Jelsma was the perfect fit to have the ‘C’ on his jersey.
“Absolutely,” said Colts GM and head coach Marty Williamson. “He’s just heart and soul. Personally, I just think the world of him. He’s a great young man. Secondly, he’s taken on that leadership role.”
Cole Beaudoin and newest acquisition Thomas Stewart were named assistant captains under Jelsma.
“We got great leadership from those guys,” added Williamson. “We know it’s going to be a tough second half here, and we just got to stay the course. As we talked about after the first period, don’t play the scoreboard. We just got to play every shift and play with pride.”
The Colts did that Saturday even though they got themselves in an early hole. Marek Vanacker, with a pair, Owen Protz and Florian Xhekaj helped Brantford build a 4-1 lead after just 20 minutes.
Beaudoin, on the power play, and Michael Derbidge, with his first as a Colt, scored just 49 seconds apart early in the second to cut the lead to one.
The Colts (15-21-1-0), who also got a first-period marker from Roenick Jodoin, had their chances and pressed hard late, but couldn’t capitalize on their momentum.
Despite the loss, Williamson was happy with his team’s effort.
“We had a lot of momentum in the second,” said Williamson. “We had a couple of chances to score more in the first. Jelsma was in alone, (Bode) Stewart was in alone and they just didn’t go in. They kept playing hard.
“I thought we looked a little tired in the third at the start and then we sort of built some momentum and we had a couple of chances.”
It was a much better effort than the last time these two teams met back in Brantford (19-12-6-2) when the East Division leading Bulldogs walked all over Barrie, 6-1.
“We had a tough start,” said Jelsma of getting down by three goals on Saturday. “I thought we battled back, played a good two periods. Considering how we played the last time we met them in Brantford, I thought we responded well. It was a tough loss, but the boys came together.”
Sam Hillebrandt, making his first start since returning from the world junior hockey championships in Sweden after winning a gold medal with Team USA, was especially sharp in the last two periods, finishing with 36 saves to give his teammates a chance to battle back.
You could forgive the Colts if they felt like they deserved a better.
“This league’s a tough league,” said Williamson. “You don’t’ deserve anything unless you can get more goals on the scorecard. Every night is like playoffs for us. It’s going to be close hockey games and we got to play awfully well to get wins.
“We did a few things wrong in the first that made it a little more difficult on us and that’s why we came up a little bit short. But I’m proud of the guys and how they battled tonight. They played physical, they got more pucks to the net. We played a better game, so we got to keep growing.”
“I’m proud of the guys and how they battled tonight,” added Williamson. “They played physical, they got more pucks to the net. We played a better game, so we got to keep growing.”
ICE CHIPS: Barrie remained four points behind Peterborough for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after the Petes fell 6-3 at home to Oshawa. . . Chris Grisolia, who is still sporting a walking boot, remains a ways away from returning to the lineup. “This is a tough injury,” said Williamson. “High ankle sprains are tough ones. “We’re probably four weeks away from seeing Grisolia.” . . . The NHL released their recent Central Scouting Mid-Season Rankings and Beaudoin, who will take part in the upcoming 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Jan. 24 in Moncton, New Brunswick, is ranked at No. 31. Riley Patterson is ranked 116th, while Bode Stewart is No. 147 on the list. The 2024 NHL Draft is scheduled for Jun 28 & 29 in Las Vegas. . . Evan Passmore was given a checking from behind major and tossed from the game midway through the first period. . . Xhekaj had a goal called back in the third period after a high deflection in front of the net. . . With the speakers not working at Sadlon Arena, the 4,057 fans sang the Canadian national anthem.
Banner image via the Barrie Colts - Beau Jelsma was named the 25th captain in Barrie Colts franchise history ahead of Saturday night's contest against the Brantford Bulldogs at Sadlon Arena.
