McDowell's final curtain call with Hornets hoped to be a long one

The stark reality that comes with playing junior hockey is age restriction and no amount of skill can remove that barrier when it's reached. Hit it you're done.

Sure, a select group of players find the doorway into the next level, but it's a small group, and rarely from Jr. C. The fact is, most still playing Jr. hockey at age 21, the beer league beckons, maybe senior or college hockey but nothing for pay or glory.

Every season four members of the Alliston Hornets face that fact. They're lucky in the sense that Jr. C stretches eligibility to four 21-year-olds per team. This year it's Kyle McDowell, Chad Camirand, Jason Campeau and Breton MacKinnon who are about to hit that wall when this current playoff run ends. At worse it could be over this Sunday night, at best stretch into May as it has the last two seasons with two appearances in the provincial finals, including one title.

For McDowell, his final season is marked with the "C" on his sweater, and his name etched on the league's MVP trophy - a second consecutive win for a Hornet as Ryan Algar, in his final season, won last year.

"Unless the Leafs come looking for a walk on, I think this is probably my last year of competitive hockey. There's always Senior A, but I think after 17 years of hockey, a year or two off sounds pretty nice," wrote McDowell in an email for this feature. "I'm currently finishing up my business diploma at Georgian College in Barrie. I'm currently looking at Universities. I would like to go into a career in computers, whether it be in software or IT, I'm not sure."

Winning is something he became accustomed to climbing up the minor hockey ranks. Living in Everett, a "grey" area for registration purposes between centres, he started out playing with the Essa Eagles of Base Borden, then moved to TNT as a major Novice because "I wanted to play with my friends from school and moved to TNT." During that run, McDowell played on two OMHA championship teams, and won a bronze and a Gold OHF medal. His final year of minor hockey was with the Barrie Icemen AAA.

"After that it was the Hornets and I've been here ever since." He was 16 years old.

McDowell, like a majority of players who came out of AAA and 16, aspired to more in hockey when he signed on with the Jr. C club.

"Over the years I've tried out for a few Junior A teams, Newmarket, Orangeville, and Couchiching (Orillia). Things never really worked out. I played 18 games with Couch before deciding that I would rather be an important part of the Hornets than get the odd shift at the Junior A level. Coming back was one of my best hockey decisions. I may have given up on a hockey career, but that year we went on to win it all, and that was the best hockey moment of my life. Could I have battled it out with Couch, and played again the next year? Probably. But I'm happy with my decision to return and finish out my playing days as a Hornet."

Clay Birkett, Hornets director of hockey, who helped recruit McDowell, called him "one of the building blocks for our team six years ago."

"He has played a major role with the Hornets over the past six years helping us win four regular season titles, two League Championships, and, our first ever All-Ontario Championship and Finalist last year," wrote Birkett in an email for this feature. "He's a well-rounded individual that is respected by everyone on the team and around the league as proof with his league MVP award. To me Kyle has been nothing but a very classy individual both on and off the ice. He is the first to sign an autograph or show up at an event and represent the Hornets. He will be really missed by the entire organization next year."

McDowell's six seasons with the Hornets span both ends of the organization. Since its inception, the Hornets had always been a home for the area's best juvenile plus aged players with nowhere else to play, playing out of the former Alliston Memorial Arena, in front of a Friday night home crowd of family, friends, and old timers. As General Manager Rick Bartlett described it, Alliston was a third or fourth choice for players out of the Barrie area.

That's no longer the case. Outside of Jr. A, Alliston is one of the highly sought after clubs to play for, operating on a budget of about $150,000 per year, in a brand new facility. They sell season tickets and corporate sponsorships, and draw multimedia interest throughout the season.

McDowell points to his first season in 2004-05 as the "turning point in the organization."

"I'm guessing, but we must have had over 10 new players. Ryan Algar, Darren Mooney, both put up over 40 points. Despite a short playoff run, I think that is when the fans realized there was something here in Alliston," he recalled. "The team continued to improve, Clay Birkett brought in players, and the addition of Darrin Shannon really added appeal to the team." During that time Shannon became head coach, they moved into a new arena and have their own dressing room and office "that rivals any OHL room."

In their first year at the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre, playoff games were drawing standing room only crowds. They're local celebrities, sought after to be guests at charity functions and fundraisers, and kids ask for their autographs.

"As for playing in front of 1,200 fans, that's as good as it gets for a Jr. C hockey player. I remember two years ago before they decided to go to assigned seating for playoffs, we would have 1,000+ people watching warmup. People would be showing up at the rink to claim their seats two hours before game time. It's really a great feeling to have such tremendous support from the fans."

Shannon, who coached the Hornets from 2005 to last season, gives McDowell share of the credit for the Hornets turn around both on and off the ice.

"There is no question in my mind the Hornets have been lucky to have had Kyle for as long as we have since he definitely could have played Jr. A. He's been a great leader and someone the team has always been able to count on. They are going to definitely miss him next year," wrote Shannon in an email for this story. "The other side of Kyle is the great kid who comes from an outstanding family, who has done so many great things for the team and the community.

"In Kyle's second year he came back from Jr. A tryouts, and quite honestly he had a real tough year. He should have been one of the best players in the league, but he really struggled to get his head wrapped around where he was as a hockey player," recalled Shannon. "There were times I wasn't sure if he even wanted to play hockey. After that year, he came back with a new attitude, a much more mature young man, and has been one of the dominant players in the province ever since. I'm just one of many people in the organization that want to congratulate and thank Kyle for his great contribution to the team and all our successes over the years. He was part of the group of players that helped turn the organization into what it has become today."

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