Graduating Senior Q&As: Championships, clutch goals unforgettable for three men's hockey players
Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – From the moment a student-athlete steps through the doors at MacEwan, their journey is a special one filled with memories of great plays, big wins, unforgettable times with teammates and a transformation into the person they are today.
In five years (or less), which feels like the blink of an eye, that journey is over.
As our graduating student-athletes move on from the program and prepare for the next chapter of life, we are asking them to reflect on their time as a Griffin.
From March 15-24, we will be featuring Q&As with our graduates by sport.
Here is the schedule:
Today – Men's Hockey
March 23 – Women's Soccer
March 24 – Cross Country
Cam Gotaas will never forget his Game 3 overtime and series winner in the 2018-19 ACAC semifinal against Red Deer College. The Griffins later went on to win their third-straight ACAC Championship, beating NAIT in the final (Matthew Jacula photo).
Cam Gotaas
Forward (2016-21)
Graduating with … Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting
Future plans … Career opportunity at KPMG, plans to pursue his CPA
What are some of your favourite memories from your time as a Griffin?
"I think that's easy. It was the three championships, for sure. I never won anything before I got here, so that would be three highlights, especially the last one (in 2019). With everything we went through with Nakehko (Lamothe's passing) – (they shared the victory with his family in a special celebration on the ice) – it was a moment I'll take with me the rest of my life. The friendships with all of the guys, too, stand out."
Any individual highlights stand out to you?
"Obviously, I had a really good year last year. I think statistics-wise, it was my best year. It was a fun year with all the guys just to put up all those numbers. Championships aside, individual moments would have to be the goal I scored against Red Deer in overtime (in the deciding game of the 2018-19 semifinals) to move us on to play NAIT again. I hadn't scored an overtime goal in my life, at least not that I could remember."
And you dove across the ice in celebration. It was unforgettable.
"Yeah, it was more relief than anything. That was a really good series. They played us to the brink. But we found a way."
If you look back at yourself when you first entered the program and compare it with where you are now, how would you define the growth as a player and a person?
"I think as a person, I was around a lot of great guys and older guys like Ryan Benn, Nolan Yaremchuk, Ryan Baskerville and Brett Njaa. They're such good people, so you take a lot away from them. Guys like me and Austin Yaremchuk, we're best friends and he was a big reason why I came to MacEwan. Just being around those guys shapes you as a person. As a player, I think I started off slow, but then I was pretty consistent from Year 1 to Year 3 and then last year I just took off, numbers-wise. Winning makes everything easier. It's easy to be a successful individual when your team's winning."
What have you learned about yourself being a captain, especially going through one of the toughest years in the program's life?
"I think just the resiliency. You're going to be dealt adversity in life, so just to push through it and learn from it. As a leader, I was surrounded by a great group of guys, so they made that part easy. Yeah, they looked to me, but also, I relied a lot on them. If anything I was just the guy with the 'C' on, but it was a group effort. We had a great culture in that room and I think leading was easy with those guys."
Anything else you'd like to say about your time as a Griffin?
"It was the best decision of my life to come to MacEwan. Just the brotherhood and all the guys I got to meet, the championships we won. I wouldn't trade it for the world. It was the best five years of my life, for sure."
Austin Yaremchuk, centre, celebrates with teammates after the Griffins won their first of three-straight ACAC Championships in 2017 - a legendary and unforgettable comeback from 3-1 down to beat the NAIT Ooks 4-3 in OT in the deciding game at NAIT Arena (Len Joudrey photo).
Austin Yaremchuk
Defence (2016-21)
Graduating with … Bachelor of Commerce in Supply Chain Management
Future plans … Career in Supply Chain Industry
Favourite memories?
"For me, first and foremost are the three championships that I won. Those were definitely the best times of my life. That would definitely be No. 1. Then, honestly the everyday life of being a student-athlete. Those are memories that I'll always have – staying at school late, meeting some of the other fellow teammates at Towers. The whole college life is a fun life. It really prepares you to grow up. The everyday routine that you get into, I'll definitely miss going into my future."
Any particular highlights that stand out?
"There are two games that I'll remember forever. The first would be my first year. We were playing NAIT in the (2017) finals and it was Game 3. I remember we were on the powerplay and this was in the third period. I believe we were down 2-1 at the time. They dumped the puck in on the penalty kill and it somehow got into our own net. That was with 10 minutes left in the game, which put us down 3-1. With about six minutes left, Cam Gotaas scored a big goal. Then with about a minute left, my brother (Nolan Yaremchuk) actually tied the game up to force overtime. Then, obviously, Brett Njaa had the overtime winner. That game is up there. Then, my third championship. We were down 4-0 and we somehow climbed back to tie it up 4-4 and Basky (Ryan Baskerville) put in the overtime winner to get our third in a row. That goal will last a lifetime, for sure."
You were an assistant captain last year for the first time. Tell me a little bit about getting to be a part of the leadership group and how you felt you progressed as a player to get to that point and what you learned from it?
"There were quite a few players that left our team going into last season. Of those that won all three championships, I think it was just me, Cam (Gotaas) and Marc (Olivier Daigle). So, I knew a good core of our leadership was missing. I was honoured to accept that role. I was a veteran defenceman. I learned from all the older guys I played with previously and they helped me into the leader than I am today."
Do you have anything else to say about your time as a Griffin?
"The stuff I went through in my time – I went through some extreme downs with my good friend and teammate Nakehko passing away. That was an eye-opening experience I will never forget. Then winning three championships in a row, I saw the extreme highs. It definitely was the greatest times of my life. I will highly recommend MacEwan and their Athletics to anyone I talk to. I will always be a part of this family forever. I can't thank everyone within the institution enough."
Brett Smythe helped secure MacEwan's second of three-straight championships by putting the Griffins up 3-1 late in Game 3 of the 2017-18 ACAC final with this tally. They went on to defeat the NAIT Ooks 4-1 (Len Joudrey photo).
Brett Smythe
Forward (2017-21)
Graduating with … Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing
Future plans … Pursuing job opportunities; possibly continue hockey career
Favourite memories?
"My favourite of all-time memory would be my second championship when we won in front of Nakehko's family. That whole season in general, the ending of that was a pretty surreal feeling."
That's something you guys will never forget – the highs and lows of that season. How did you guys get through that?
"I can't say if anyone has been through anything like that in their hockey past. I don't think a team has ever come from being that low to finding a way to come together and use each other. We became more of a team than I've ever been a part of a team before. To come through and do it for him, win the championship, it was crazy. I've definitely never experienced a feeling like that before."
Do you have any individual highlights that stand out to you – a big goal you scored, a defensive play or even a funny moment?
"To be honest, the only one that comes to mind is scoring in my first final against NAIT (2018) to put us up two goals with not much time left. It was a pretty good feeling, knowing we had that lead."
You won MacEwan's Male Rookie of the Year award in 2017-18. What did that mean to you?
"That was awesome. It just seem like MacEwan never stops growing. We keep improving every year with every sport. It's cool to see the growth. To be a part of it and help that growth, it was awesome. It's a good feeling to win that one."
You won ACAC Scholar Athlete awards in three-straight seasons from 2017-20. How much pride do you take in having excellence in the classroom?
"Being a student athlete, the first word is student, so you've got to be good in all senses. It starts in the classroom. You can't do university sports without that side of things. That comes first. The sports side was always second to me."
If you look back at the player and person you were when you first entered the program to now, what would you see?
"I'd say I've grown a lot. I was a kid who just had a high school diploma and I didn't really know much about the world at all. I thought junior hockey was life and I got brought into a really good group of guys my first year. I was one of three rookies my first year and they set the table that this was what it was like to be a university athlete at MacEwan. Being very studious, very on task, we put our work in, we showed up every single day and I think I was really fortunate to have that group of guys to lead me and show me the way."
Anything else to say about your time as a Griffin?
"Honestly, it was probably some of the best four years of my life. I had an absolute blast. I loved the school, I love the format of the smaller classes. For a business student, actually getting to work with real companies and not just take exams every single day, I found awesome for my learning and development. The sporting side, I'm just really grateful to be a part of the organization. It was first class – everything they did. They give you a chance to win and the opportunity to have success. I loved it."
