CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — It’s Saturday, June 11 in Charlottetown, PEI. Inside the Eastlink Centre, the Shawinigan Cataractes and Charlottetown Islanders are 40 seconds into overtime of the fifth game in their QMJHL final series. Shawinigan leads the best-of-seven three games to 1.
Brett Budgell, captain of the Islanders, has played for the team for five years. He's just finished his most successful season as an individual player, scoring 79 points (40G, 37A) in 67 games during the regular season, and a further 20 points (12G, 8A) in 15 playoff games. His team has become the first PEI-based major junior team to qualify for a QMJHL final.
One second from now, Budgell’s junior career will end on a Pierrick Dubé goal.
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Wrong Feet, Forward
Budgell can’t remember a time when he didn't love hockey. Growing up in St. John’s, he went as often as he could to watch the St. John’s Maple Leafs and later, the Fog Devils. When he was very small, however, he couldn’t leave the rink without attending to one very important ritual.
“The big thing for me when I was a kid was watching the Zamboni,” laughs Budgell.
“Just had to stay after the game to watch the Zamboni.”
When he was old enough, Budgell joined the St. John’s Caps minor hockey organization. It was there that he first encountered coach Wally Bray, who would end up coaching Budgell until he left to play junior at 16. Now, getting a five-year-old ready for hockey is a geometrically challenging exercise. Anyone could make a mistake like Budgell’s father did that first day.
“He actually put my skates on the wrong feet the first time I went to go skate,” says Budgell. “Wally Bray actually was the coach that day and sent me back in to go get my skates changed to the right feet.”
Bantam Talents
There was no lack of hockey skill in Budgell’s generation of Newfoundland hockey players. He played with newly-minted Stanley Cup Champion Alex Newhook and against New Jersey Devils centre Dawson Mercer of Bay Roberts. For elite players like these, who may be plying their trade away from major hockey centres, tough choices come early.
“I think my second year of bantam, I kind of knew I had to make a decision, if I was going to pursue it, that I had to leave the island. It was kind of where I realized that I could make a career out of playing hockey.”
“I think my second year of bantam, I kind of knew I had to make a decision, if I was going to pursue it, that I had to leave the island. It was kind of where I realized that I could make a career out of playing hockey.”
— Brett Budgell
At just 15 years old, Budgell was off to London, Ontario to play for the Minor Midget Junior Knights. It wasn’t as jarring a move for him as for some since he was able to stay with his aunt and uncle.
“It’s certainly a young age. It’s certainly hard not only for me but for my family to send their kid away at a young age to play a sport,” says Budgell. “It’s certainly nothing I would ever take back. I had a great experience in London and I loved every minute.”
Doubly Drafted
In 2017, after putting up 58 points in 32 games for London, Budgell was drafted twice, by the USHL’s Chicago Steel and the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders. He was also considering the US college route. Players like Budgell face a binary choice in this case. The NCAA considers the CHL to be a pro league, so any player that plays for a CHL team forfeits their NCAA eligibility.
Budgell chose a middle ground by starting the season with the Steel.
“At the time I was really on the fence about what I wanted to do and the USHL was a good league where I could go and play and take some time to make my decision. Where I could go and visit some schools and still keep in contact with Charlottetown.”
After 14 games with Chicago, Budgell made his choice, and at Christmas he returned to Atlantic Canada to play for the Islanders. It wasn’t quite home, but it was familiar enough for a teenager swapping one island for another.
“Charlottetown is a lot like St. John’s, in my opinion,” says Budgell. “Chicago, obviously, is just a completely different world than anything I was used to. It’s a huge city with a lot of people. It was a great experience for me, but to come back to Charlottetown was very nice to get that sense of a small, close-knit community.”
Under GM/Coach Jim Hulton, Budgell put up 22 points in the Islanders' remaining 32 games, chipping in a further 12 in 18 playoff tilts. The very next season, 2018-2019, he was named an assistant captain.
“[Jim Holton] had a lot of confidence in me. So as soon as I came into the league, I was put into a big role, and at 17, I was wearing a letter.”
Steady Improvement
Over the next four seasons, Budgell’s counting stats rose: 33, 49, 58 and 79 points. At the beginning of the 2020-2021 season, he swapped the 'A' on his jersey for a 'C'. He credits prior captains Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Brendon Clavelle for preparing him for that responsibility.
“[Joseph] was a great leader to me, he drove me to the rink every day and I certainly learned a lot from him. Then I had Brendon Clavelle after that and he was another great leader,” says Budgell.
“I just tried to lead by example on and off the ice each and every day, and I think that earned my teammates’ respect. So, when I was eventually voted by my teammates as captain, it was a big honour and something I take pride in.”
Career stats
Last Second
Junior careers are short. It’s a world where 20 is old. The QMJHL allows for three such “overage” players per team. In the Islander’s room, these elder statesmen sit in adjoining stalls across from the team’s youngest players.
“Probably once a week, I’d get one of those feelings where I’m just sitting around the room and I just kind of reflect back on previous years and think, I used to be on the other side of the room,” says Budgell.
“It’s certainly something that I tried to make sure the younger guys understood on my team after this season, and throughout this season, was to just enjoy every minute, because it certainly goes by fast and you really don’t want to blink and miss any special moments.”
"...it certainly goes by fast and you really don’t want to blink and miss any special moments.”
— Budgell
Which brings us back to June 11: Dubé is scoring his overtime goal, and Budgell’s junior career is ending.
“You don’t really know what to think. In the moment, you just kind of go blank and blackout,” says Budgell.
“To be honest with you, I'm not even sure that I've still fully digested it. It’s something that I think I need to take some time to reflect on. I don’t think I've really had that downtime to reflect on not only this season, but my entire junior career.”
'When People Need Help, You Give'
As the only captain to lead Charlottetown to a QMJHL final, Budgell has secured a legacy among the team’s alumni.
However, he is especially proud of his efforts in the wider community, for which he earned the Humanitarian Player of the Year award from the league.
That award was for two projects, one of which was working as an ambassador for Hockey Gives Blood. The other was spearheading the Fill the Net food drive for The Upper Room Hospitality Ministry in Charlottetown. Budgell was motivated after working on a school project that highlighted the degree to which people in Canada must deal with food insecurity.
“I think it’s something that my parents instilled in me as a kid, is when people need help, you give. So helping out at the food bank or even with hockey gives blood, it just was second nature to me. I just knew that that was something I always wanted to do, to give back as much as I could.”
What’s Next?
Like most people in their young adulthood, Budgell has begun to reflect on the role his parents played in helping him reach major junior.
“You kind of reflect on your childhood and then you see how much they really did for you. I don’t think you really realize it as a kid,” he says. “But my parents have been beyond supportive and that’s something I’m forever grateful for.”
He says there are dozens of others deserving of thanks for helping him get where he is, but didn’t want to name one if he couldn’t name them all — and there’s only so much room in a newspaper column.
But if things go according to plan, that list of hockey helpers is not finished, either. Budgell plans to try to continue his career somewhere in the professional ranks, either before or after finishing the business degree he’s found the time to get halfway through while playing junior.
“Nothing will be set in stone for the next few weeks, but I want to play pro hockey, for sure. That’s what I want to do for a living. Hopefully, that’s next season,” he says.
'It certainly goes by fast': St. John's native Brett Budgell eyeing the pros after wrapping up junior hockey career - Saltwire
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