An icy rink. Sharpened skates. Hockey has been around since about 1875 when the first organized hockey game was played between two teams from Montreal’s Victoria Skating Club. Not only has it become a cherished sport throughout many places around the world, but it’s a very important sport to Shorewood’s very own Freeman Butler.
Butler has been playing hockey for almost 10 years and is currently a part of the Jr. Kraken team, a new organization part of the Metropolitan Hockey League. “This is my first year on Jr. Kraken because this is their first year as an organization with a aaa team,” says Butler. As a defensive player, Butler’s main job is to prevent the opposing team from scoring which can be a difficult job in itself though not all the challenges of playing hockey are on the ice.
“There’s a lot of travel. It’s sometimes two flyaways in a month and that spans from Oct. to March,” Butler says, “So it’s sometimes hard to keep up with school but I work with what I get.” As a student missing a day or two of school can lead to missing important content and homework to pile up so flying to places across the United States once or twice a month definitely becomes a challenge in high school. Butler says, “When I have time I try to get as much done as I can. It doesn’t always work out that way but you know.”
But when it comes to winning a big game, it’s all worth it. Butler’s most memorable moment on the ice comes from this season. “We won state for the first time as a first year organization. Which really set in stone, or like, made a mark on the organization to be the first aaa team that they’ve had to win state, especially in their first season,” Butler says.
Teamwork is an important part of any sport but for Butler who tries to be more of a leader, especially for his hockey team, it’s something he always tries to keep in mind. “I just try to work with what’s best for everyone, try to make sure everyone’s on the same page, letting people know when certain things are happening and making sure people are on time for those things. Just being there for help,” says Butler.
Looking to the future Butler hopes to keep hockey a big part of his life. “My goal is to play juniors and then get scouted and recruited by a NCAA school for division one hockey and then get drafted into the NHL… If hockey doesn’t work out, I would definitely want to go into sports medicine or physical therapy or something like that,” Butler says.
After years of playing Butler has many skills and values that he’s able to apply to his everyday life. When it comes to some of the biggest one’s Butler would say “Discipline, selflessness, and just caring because you’ve got a team and when you’re on that team you’ve signed up for all that. It’s like your family.”
