Hockey not over for Hennigar

Salmon Kings | Former UNB star eyes playing in Europe after demise of the ECHL franchise in B.C.

Rob Hennigar is leaving his options open regarding his professional hockey career, but a return to Victoria is not among them.

The Salmon Kings of the ECHL have folded, clearing the way for the return of major junior hockey, in the form of a new Western Hockey League franchise. The Chilliwack Bruins moved in, announcing the move even before the Salmon Kings, the city's seven-year-old pro hockey franchise, had completed their run for the ECHL's Kelly Cup.

"It was tough for us," said Hennigar, the former UNB hockey star who is now back in his adopted home town, still somewhat numb from both the playoff sweep at the hands of the Alaska Aces and the resultant beaching of the Salmon Kings, not to mention a fractured maxilla, suffered on the second shift of what turned out to be the second last game of the team's existence.

"We were on a power play and the forward went to get it in and he lost it," said Hennigar. "He lost it. Their guy came off their bench and kind of one-timed it and it caught me square in the face."

Hennigar skated off under his own power, didn't lose any teeth, and wasn't cut by the puck, and so "doesn't look that bad," he said. "I have a black eye," he said. "The pain...I couldn't explain the pain. The doctor compares it to being hit by a car at a stop light...you don't know it's coming, so it catches you off-guard. So I was trying to figure out what just happened, and I was just like 'Oh my god.' I skated off, but I didn't really know where I was going, and I couldn't really see. I thought I had broken all my teeth, but that's the effect of the injury."

Alas, he saw the demise of the Salmon Kings coming long before that. Rumours on the fate of the franchise began circulating in December. By February, sources in the community confirmed that the Salmon Kings were actually the Lame Ducks.

As one of the senior players on the team and an alternate captain, Hennigar had to address the situation more than most. He found it "annoying" to deal with all the questions. "Day in, day out, with everyone asking 'Is there a team, isn't there a team? or whether they (owners) cared about how far the team went in the playoffs or the team just ended and the new team came in."'

The Salmon Kings won their first-round series against the Bakersfield Condors. They split their home games in Victoria to open the series and were sent on the road to headlines that read 'Last Game for Salmon Kings?' It galvanized the team.

"They had already counted us out," he said. "We used that as inspiration for the rest of the run we made. We went in there (to Bakersfield) and won two straight."

They pushed the Aces hard in the four game set, losing the first game 2-1 on a goal with nine seconds left in regulation and the second in overtime. Hennigar was third star in the second game.

Then he returned home and on the second shift of game three, saw his season end. The Salmon Kings expired two nights later.

Hennigar enjoyed his season as a Salmon King.

"It was run, top to bottom, probably the best I've ever seen," he said. "Anything you ever wanted, they got it for you. It was nice to play for them."

For Hennigar, who finished with nine goals and 54 assists in 61 regular season games and a dozen assists in 11 playoff fixtures, it put him at another crossroads in his hockey career. The 28-year-old said he is "not too sure," what his next stop may be.

"I'll wait and see what my options are," he said.

He still has the school option too, of course - the $10,000 BLG Scholarship he earned a couple of years ago hasn't been cashed and he has the option of juggling school and hockey, as he did proficiently for four seasons at the University of New Brunswick.

He said hockey in Europe beckons.

"Honestly, I want to go see some of the world, and do it while I'm young and they're paying me to do it," he said.

"I always wanted to go over there at some point...there's more money over there, and it's a different part of the world, so why not just go over there and enjoy it."

Something else he enjoyed was watching his old alma mater claim another national championship on home ice, and to see his friend and former linemate, Hunter Tremblay, top his mark as the all-time points leader at UNB before signing a professional contract with the Edmonton Oilers organization.

"He's a fantastic hockey player and a good friend," said Hennigar.