Wolverines hockey hit the ice for preseason workouts

“It’ll be about persistence, perseverance and wearing the other team down”

For the first time ever, the entire Gunnison Valley hockey world is coming together under one roof, so to speak. With the creation of the West Elk Hockey Association (WEHA), the two ends of the valley have combined to form a hockey club, creating a larger pool of players for each age group. Where that really takes hold is in the high school ages, also known as the midget age group.
With the advent of WEHA, the Crested Butte Wolfpack and the Gunnison Blades high school teams are joining forces to form the WEHA Wolverines. The water was tested last year as Wolfpack coach John Mortell took players from the Blades and the Wolfpack to a tournament in Phoenix. The team played well enough to be competitive and it was obvious that the main thing holding them back was practice time.
This year, the two teams are together from the start and will continue workouts until the end of December, when the players will be split into A and B teams.
At the head of all of this is the new midget age group coach, Joe Otsuka. Otsuka has Todd Carroll, Jeff Black and JD Colson helping out with the team.
Otsuka grew up in San Jose, Calif., played junior hockey in Canada and on the East Coast, played some collegiate hockey at Cal State Northridge, worked in the Dallas Stars organization, and helped coach a Texas high school team to a handful of state hockey titles.
He eventually ended up in the Gunnison Valley in August after doing some extensive research on mountain-town hockey in Colorado.
“I wanted to live in a place that had a great hockey community and was in the mountains,” says Otsuka.
He found that here in the Gunnison Valley and believes there’s something to this place that outshines most other towns, not just in Colorado but nationwide.
“This area does the best job in the U.S. of making hockey affordable for kids to play,” says Otsuka.
 Three weeks into workouts, Otsuka discovered that local hockey players have a solid foundation for success.
“The biggest thing here is that everyone is a great skater and they don’t mind hard work,” explains Otsuka.
As of this week, Otsuka has a squad of 32 players showing up for practices and admits making the break into two tiered teams—A and B—is going to be tough, based on what he’s seen so far.
“It’s a perfect number for two teams,” says Otsuka. “But it’s going to be really hard to make the two teams.”
Otsuka and the coaching staff will make a preliminary split in December but the rosters will not be set until December 31.
“The rosters will be flexible to start. If you don’t execute, follow team rules and just rest on your laurels, you will get moved down, and vice versa,” says Otsuka. “We want great teammates and to find the right group of kids and where a player needs to be for proper development.”
In the meantime, Otsuka plans to use the numbers and talent he has to the fullest extent, as the skaters prepare for the upcoming season.
“With the altitude and conditioning we go through, it’s going to be wave after wave after wave,” says Otsuka. “It’ll be about persistence, perseverance and wearing the other team down.”
Not only that, but Otsuka wants to build a program that kids and families in the younger ages aspire to be a part of in the future, as well as a program that stands out in the state. As a result, he knows his expectations of his players are high.
“I want us to set a good example and build the preeminent hockey program in this part of the state,” says Otsuka. “It takes a lot of hard work and it takes a lot of work every single day. The kids have responded more than willingly.”
Sam Reaman is entering his fourth and final year as a midget player. He spent the past three years on the Crested Butte Wolfpack and says it’s different this year with a new coach, and it’s exciting.
“He’s really good, really smart,” says Reaman. “It’s totally different. We’re doing drills I’ve never done before and it’s really high-paced.”
In addition, Reaman sees the advantage to having players from both ends of the valley playing together and looks forward to a successful season.
“The big difference is we will have three lines with skills,” says Reaman. “There’s not one weak spot out there. I think we could win the league. We’ve got a great coach and solid lines. We’re set up for success and we just have to go out hard and win.”
The Wolverines look to get in pre-season games as they prepare for the upcoming season in a league flush with Front Range talent starting in the new year.
“The kids have responded well, the parents have been really supportive and the organization has been great,” says Otsuka.