JDHS goalie Brayden Baxter, shown last season against Palmer, will forgo his senior season to play for the United States Premier Hockey League’s Bellingham Blazers. (Klas Stolpe/KINY)
Juneau, Alaska (KINY) – Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé goalie Brayden Baxter, 17, will forgo his senior season with the Crimson Bears to play hockey with the Bellingham Blazers, a Tier II team in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL).
“I was just looking more for a challenge in my hockey career,” Baxter said. “I was wanting to get more exposure and more training…”
Baxter attended a Bellingham Blazers try-out camp in July.
“The level of competition is really nerve-wracking but also really fun to play in,” he said. “There is definitely a lot of really good players down there…”
Baxter, at five-foot-10-inches tall and weighing 161-pounds, begins practice with the Blazers on Aug. 15 and games start in mid-September.
“The ages in the junior league are 16-21 so you can play until you are 21 years old,” Baxter said. “I just wanted to be in this league to get more exposure with college coaches and stuff and more training…”
Baxter will continue his education through home schooling and will stay with a host, or “billet,” family.
Bellingham is one of five teams brought together by the USPHL for a new Northwest Division this season. Opponents in their division include the Rogue Valley Royals from Medford, Oregon; the Vernal Oilers from Vernal, Utah; the Rock Springs Prospectors from Rock Springs, Wyoming; and in-state power Seattle Totems. The USPHL also includes Premier divisions Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, Midwest East, Midwest West Pacific, New England, Southeast and Mountain.
“It’s a nice place to be in,” Baxter said of Bellingham. “It’s beautiful and similar to Juneau…”
Baxter hopes to achieve success “by staying focused and progressing in my goals and progressing through the season with training and practices. I’ll even have my own goalie coach… I am definitely going to be nervous about having this experience but I’m excited to see what comes my way and I’m excited to be challenged with being on my own.”
Blazers head coach Mark MacDonald said, “Brayden stood out to us at…
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