After his final year in junior hockey and as an Estevan Bruin, captain Jake Fletcher has made his commitment finally to head out to Montreal and join the Concordia Stingers hockey team. This comes after 3 of his teammates from last year (Kaelan Holt, Jake Tesarowski, and Hayden Guilderson) have all made their commitments.

"I was just really trying to find the right place," says Fletcher as he enjoys his summer back home in British Columbia.

"From the start of the season, I knew I wanted to play at the highest level possible, it and there was a few offers early on but after talking to Chris (Lewgood, Bruins' head coach and GM) and my parents I just kind of decided to stay patient because I know a lot of teams seem to take their time and see if some of the major junior guys are going to go pro or not, and so I waited and waited and waited and in the last couple months things started picking up.

Fletcher was one of the more attractive looking deals in both skill and determination when it comes to the junior leagues across Canada after last season. He posted his best year yet while bearing the 'C' on his chest, putting up well over a point a game during the playoffs and regular season, and he never missed a single game in either as well.

Although it may be different for Fletcher going from being the leader of his team to one of the young guns once more, he isn't phased by the new challenge ahead of him.

"I'm used to leading a full team with some of the older guys and now I'll be going back to being one of the young guys. It'll be fun, it'll be different but I think at the same time a lot of the guys are going to be a lot older, there's going to be 26-year-olds in the league, I think everyone will be able to bring leadership from all the different teams they've been on in different ways."

Although it's going to be a long way from home (about a 5-hour flight), Fletcher will be joined by and living with a friend from home in Colin Grannary who spent the last two years playing limited time in the NCAA with the University of Nebraska-Omaha. 

When asked about his success this year, Fletcher attributed it to two main things: his teammates in the black and gold, and some downright gritty hockey.

"It was a successful year for me personally but I don't think it would've been like that if it wasn't for my linemates and the rest of the team really putting in the effort. I think our team as a whole was unbelievable this year. But personally, I think it was just kinda finding my offensive touch in the league and getting more consistent on the scoreboard and helping set up my linemates."

Fletcher ended his season with 23 goals and 39 assists, good for 10th overall in scoring with 62 points, and as for the playoffs, he led the league in goals with 11, and only trailed teammate Kaelan Holt in points. He heads out to Montreal this August.