Under Andrew McCain’s ownership, team management, coaches, and players left legacy on and off the ice
The Woodstock Wall of Fame may have been light on new inductees to celebrate on Saturday, Oct. 5, with only one honouree in the Builder category. However, this particular inductee required a lot of lifting for the heavy hardware he compiled.
As the driving force of the Woodstock Slammers Junior A hockey team from 2005 to 2018, the 2024 inductee Andrew McCain orchestrated the following list of team accomplishments and league records:
— Maritime Hockey League President’s Cup Winners: 2006, ’10, ’11, ’12
— Roger Meek Division Winners: 2006, ’07, ’10, ’12
— Kent Cup Winners: 2006, ’10, ’12
— 2012 Fred Page Cup Champion
— 2012 Royal Bank Cup National Silver Medalists
— Most wins in one season (2010) 45
— Most points in one season (2010) 92
— Longest Winning Streak in one season (2010) 26
— Highest winning percentage in one season (2010) .920
— First team in MHL history to hold the number one ranking in the Canadian Junior A Hockey League. The team held this position in the 2012 season for 11 successive weeks.
In accepting his Wall of Fame plaque, McCain thanked on and off-ice personnel for the long run of success the Slammers achieved.
“Danny Braun was simply the best General Manager in the business. His attention to every detail and his preparation for the league draft was second to none,” he said.
McCain acknowledged longtime Slammer bench boss Jason Tatarnic.
“Tarts was not only a top coach, but he was also a master recruiter. He could convince players to come to Woodstock and he’d get the most out of them. Tarts, Danny and I had a saying, that we’re not going to rebuild, we’re going to reload,” McCain said.
McCain also singled out one-time Slammer head coach and a legendary Woodstock Wall of Famer himself, Bobby Vail.
“Bobby was a tremendous hockey man and coach. In fact, it was Bobby who got me into this mess in the first place,” McCain quipped.
It was evident that McCain holds the memory of the now-deceased Vail in high regard.
McCain pointed out the valuable off-ice contributions of billet families and game day personnel.
He thanked team scout Bob Holder and spoke highly of Don Peabody and Dave Wilson, two lifelong Woodstock stalwarts who recently died.
“They would do anything asked of them and beyond,” McCain recalled fondly.
A recurring theme in McCain’s acceptance speech was his pride in the Slammers’ record of moving players on to university and college hockey.
“We were the first Maritime Hockey League team to consistently place players into Canadian University Hockey and the NCAA. Our motto was “The Pursuit of Academic and Athletic Excellence.”
The numbers demonstrate McCain’s insistence on prioritizing education, with 107 Slammers going directly to college or university. Among those, 73 continued to play hockey while completing their post-secondary education.
Six Slammers also move directly to pro hockey.
“Our players have become fine citizens in all walks of life. We have an RCMP officer, coaches and general managers. A couple are still playing pro hockey,” he said.
The ceremony included video tributes from Tatarnic and former team captain Brogan Bailey.
Wes Corey fittingly read a “letter to the editor” that appeared in the local paper. In it, Bailey’s parents of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, thank the Slammer organization for their son’s development on and off the ice while in Woodstock.
The Slammers’ legacy lives on. The AYR Motor Centre arena rafters are adorned with team and player banners. Woodstock Minor Hockey has continued to use the Slammer name and team colours throughout their organization’s teams.
Carl Faulkner submitted McCain’s nomination. After the induction ceremony, Faulkner was one of several attendees recalling the throng of people regularly gathering for Friday night Slammer hockey.
“We miss it greatly,” Faulkner said.
Fortunately, locked in our minds are images of championships won (and lost), of our “adopted” hockey-playing teenage boys growing into young men, of the deafening sound of collective Thunder Sticks, of booming goal horns and of our own kids watching games while on their toes at ice level.
Thank you, Andrew McCain.
