Representing hometown with Newfoundland Regiment would be dream come true, say drafted players

The first three teenagers drafted into the Newfoundland Regiment Hockey Club — each with hockey ties to Newfoundland and Labrador — say they're ready to fight for a place on the roster of the new team.

Ben Veitch of St. John's was the first draft pick in team history. At 15, Veitch scored 21 goals and 21 assists with the York Simcoe Express U16 AAA squad in Aurora, Ont.

He also got to debut the team's uniform, and had a semi-viral moment when he flashed a Newfoundland and Labrador flag stitched into the lining of his suit jacket as he took to the stage.

"It made me feel really proud to be a Newfoundlander and to come home," Veitch told CBC News.

"It was an amazing moment, something I couldn't imagine."

The Regiment selected Conception Bay South native Quinn Norman one pick later, a puck-moving defenceman who scored 24 points in 33 games with the Greater Toronto Hockey League's Vaughan Kings.

To round out their first round, the team then selected centre Phenwick MacLean eighth overall. A native of Bedford, N.S., MacLean was among the Nova Scotia Under-18 Hockey League's top scorers with 23 goals last season.

"It was pretty, like, surreal to put on the jersey and just feel like you've kind of essentially made it," MacLean, 16, said. "I'm just leaving cloud nine right now."

Although their places on the team's roster aren't guaranteed, all three players said they'll be ready to make a good impression when training camp begins.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) — often referred to as 'The Q' — is returning to St. John's for the first time since 2008.

Norman said he remembers the announcement that the team, then under a different name, was relocating from Acadie-Bathurst, N.B. vividly, and said he instantly knew where he wanted to play for the team.

"I was in my bedroom, and I jumped up and down. And I was on the phone with my parents," he said. "I just had a full joy of excitement. And as soon as they said they were going to be in the Q, they were definitely on my radar."

Norman, 15, and Veitch have played with and against each other in local hockey for years, and said being able to suit up for the Regiment together would be surreal.

Veitch said playing for the Regiment would also bring added significance — given the team's name and the branding pays homage to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

"It just makes us obviously want to work as hard as we possibly can to do the best for the Regiment. To make it an amazing organization," Veitch said.

Although born in Sweden and raised in Nova Scotia, MacLean also has ties to St. John's hockey. His father, Donald MacLean, played parts of three seasons with the St. John's Maple Leafs of the AHL between 1999 and 2002.

Donald MacLean scored 36 goals in his final season in Newfoundland, and was named an AHL all-star in 2002.

"My dad's told me that the fans are definitely a little different. And knowing that they haven't had a hockey team there in a year, they're probably going to be hungry. So it's going to be really cool," Phenwick said. "We got to get the job done, I feel like."

The trio say there's still a lot of work to be done before the Regiment begin their season on Sept. 18, but say they all have the goal of playing at Mary Browns Centre.

"To put on the Regiment jersey and get out there and actually play with the team, it would just be absolutely unreal," Norman said.

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