Despite being a perennial hard worker who never takes a shift off on the ice, Caleb Hadland did actually manage to find some time to relax this offseason. He took a week-long vacation to Sicamous in the Shuswap region of British Columbia and did his best to spend some time away from the rink and the gym.
So how long was it before the Sylvan Lake, Alberta native got bored and started wanting to get back to work?
“It was probably after the second day,” Hadland said with a chuckle.
This will come as no surprise to anyone who has ever seen Hadland play. Even as a younger player in the WHL, he often set the tone with his work ethic. It will also come as no surprise then that he swiftly got back to the grind once his brief vacation was over.
“I’ve been working on my cardio a lot,” Hadland said. “I wasn’t as big into building muscle this summer, my weight doesn’t need to go up as much, it’s more just maintaining and making sure my joints are feeling good and my body is prepared to be at the best of its ability.”
The 2006-born forward has a history of making the most of his offseason work and it shows once the season starts. He went from two goals as a rookie to 12 goals his sophomore year to 25 goals last season, a campaign in which the Wheat Kings felt he took a big step but not his last.
“It was confidence with the puck around the net,” Hadland said. “I’ve been in the league for a couple of years and you can kind of figure out the patterns of what some players do and where you should and shouldn’t be.”
Doubling his goal total again would be a tall order, but Hadland won’t be accused of not trying in that area or any other area of his game. The hard-hitting forward has made his name as a player for all situations. Ask him if he has any personal goals, however, and his mind turns away from the stat sheet to something that’s a little harder to see from afar.
“Going into this year, it’s being a leader for the boys,” he said. “I want to make sure the rink is an enjoyable place and everyone is working hard. It’s what we want to do as a career and it’s something we all love, so if we all come with a happy attitude every day that would be my biggest goal.”
Goals for the team, on the other hand, are a little more defined, and in this Hadland is in sync with his teammates. Their forward group is stacked, the defense corps is physically imposing, and they’ve got an established number-one goaltender, and the goals for the season ahead reflect the quality of the roster.
“We have a great group of guys, very experienced now in the league,” Hadland said. “We’re not too young, we’ll have a couple of young bucks but most of the boys have been around for a bit. I think this is kind of our year. We’ve made some offseason moves, lost a couple guys to college, but we still have a good core and a group that could make a deep run this year.”
As Hadland alluded to, some players have left for the NCAA ranks, but that’s been true for just about every team in the league. And even with the departures, the team is a clear contender going into the season, which adds another layer of excitement to the already-exciting time that is training camp.
“My first couple of years with the team, we weren’t as high in the standings and it’s tough, you’re coming in hoping you win some games and get a good thing going,” said Hadland. “This year, with the boys being confident in where we’re at and excited for the year is special, for sure. It makes me just want to get back to Brandon as fast as I can.”
One thing Hadland made mention of was the turnover in the leadership group. Like every team, they lost their three 2004-born players in the offseason, and that leaves a void in leadership, but they also lost captain Quinn Mantei and alternate captain Roger McQueen to the NCAA. It means Hadland, the lone returning alternate, has even more on his plate in his leadership role, and would seem to be an obvious candidate for team captain.
“It’s not really something I’m thinking about right now, I’m just showing up excited to see all the guys again,” he said. “Quinn and Roger are big holes to fill in our dressing room, and they’ll definitely be missed, we’re very happy for them for getting the opportunities they are. But as they are gone, we have some spots to fill and roles to play. It’s not really on the top of my mind but we’ll see what happens.”
Whether he’s captain or not, Hadland, who has played like a veteran almost his entire career, now very much is one. When the rookies show up to training camp, he’s got one important lesson he’s learned from his three seasons of WHL action that he wants to pass on.
“Bring it every day,” Hadland said. “This is a great opportunity we’ve all been given. Don’t take it for granted. Make sure if you show up to the rink you’re having a good time and you’re working hard, because that’s what we’re there to do and it’s what we love.”
It’s good advice, and important advice to hear. But it’s one thing to hear that advice, another to see it in action. And all the young Wheat Kings have to do to learn from Hadland is watch him in action.
