Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted an article which discusses Jeremie Biakabutuka’s perhaps somewhat surprising journey toward playing Major Junior hockey for the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders:
Jeremie Biakabutuka’s [youth] football career was over quickly. He thinks he was nine or 10 when he decided to concentrate on hockey. But he certainly has memories.
“I was a quarterback and a safety and a kicker,” he said. “I was everything. My dad was the coach, too. It was pretty funny.”
But today, he is all hockey. He is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound defenseman for the Charlottetown Islanders in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He has gone undrafted, meaning he would be an overage player if he returns to junior hockey.
He’s playing in this tournament with the hope of signing with the Red Wings or getting noticed by other NHL teams. He didn’t get invited until a week before the tournament started.
The Red Wings have a collection of skilled young defensemen already in the pipeline, but they must see potential in him or he wouldn’t be here.
“I’m a big defenseman with good mobility an speed,” he said. “So obviously they want to see me play good defensively, see me finishing my check, be physical. Using my speed to join the rush. I have a good shot, too, so take shots on the net. I consider myself a two-way defenseman, so doing all that and not creating a turnover every shift. Just be hard to play against and join the rush when I have a chance to.”
