Number 49 in WHL draft

By Carol Aun - Mission City Record - May 08, 2008

Mission's Brandon Formosa has been drafted into the WHL.

Carol Aun photo

Brandon Formosa was in the kitchen getting some water during a break from playing video games with his mom when he heard her holler.

He rushed back downstairs, with the water far away from his mind.

It was the Western Hockey League’s bantam draft day, and Formosa was expecting to take his hockey career to the next level.

And then he saw it: his name was on the computer screen. He couldn’t believe it. The draft had started just a short while ago and he was already picked by the Prince Albert Raiders in the third round, 49th overall.

Mother and son hugged each other and let out a couple of gasps and excited screams.

“I was kind shocked that I went that high,” Formosa told The Record the next day. “I was really happy.”

“This is the first step for him in a journey that could really go far,” said Hatzic hockey academy’s dry land instructor Mike MacBain. “He’s a kid you have to watch out for.”

MacBain, like the rest of Formosa’s teachers, wasn’t concerned he had stayed home that morning to monitor the draft last Thursday.

“He’s doing really well,” said MacBain.

According to MacBain, Formosa has garnered a lot of attention this year in the rink. Because he plays on Mission’s bantam A team, there were always scouts at tournament, and most of them were watching the Hatzic student.

He also believes Formosa’s tenacity, determination and all around skill has made him a standout.

“When you get to the major junior level, you have to have kids that do it all,” said MacBain, adding Formosa is not only a goal scorer, but he’s also a good back checker, does good work around the corners and is an excellent play maker. “He reads the ice well.”

While the news is exciting for the young hockey player, he is not letting it get too far from reality.

“It makes me excited and nervous that this is happening,” said Formosa. “But it won’t really have an impact [yet]. I’ll be back at Hatzic next year.”

Because Formosa is only 15 years old, he’s not eligible to play on the team full-time until he’s 16. However, he will be joining the team at training camp this summer, and he could be called up next season to play up to five games.

“A lot of people have helped me get this far,” Formosa noted, thanking his coaches, managers and instructors at Mission Minor Hockey Association and the Hatzic Hockey Academy.

But perhaps the most influential people in his career are his parents, Brian and Brenda, who put a hockey stick in his hands when he was just three hours old in the hospital and still adjusting to the new world.

Formosa learned to skate as soon as he could stand on his two feet and he joined his first hockey group at age four.

As a toddler, Formosa work on his skating skills by chasing his pacifier around the rink, while his dad would make sure it stayed slightly in front of him at all times.

He watched a lot of hockey on television, and saw the Canucks play at the rink. His hockey heroes were Pavel Bure and Joe Sakic. He liked to imitate their moves and cheered when they scored.

Formosa simply loved the sport.

“When I was little, I was just happy playing,” recalled the centreman, who played spring hockey even before he was old enough to play in the minors. “I wasn’t really competitive until I was older.”

Formosa and his family moved to Mission about three years ago from Coquitlam, where there was AAA competition. Those in the organization feared Formosa’s chances of being drafted would be compromised with a move to a lower AA community.

But Formosa received more ice time and proved his skills could not be ignored.

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Number 49 in WHL draft

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