Dylan Coffey was disappointed to see his brother, Jon, traded last week in a Maritime Hockey League deal, but not for the reason you might expect.
“I think he’s more upset the Jeep is gone more than anything,” chuckled the boys’ mother, Tina.
The Campbellton, N.B., Tigers dealt 20-year-old Jonathan Coffey, along with Jacob Levesque, to the St. Stephen Aces in a MHL junior A deal that saw Casey Fox come the other way (Fox didn’t join the Tigers; he’s been called up to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Moncton Wildcats).
So Jonathan threw his things in the Jeep and headed south to St. Stephen, N.B., leaving Dylan, who just turned 18 last month, without a ride.
“It came as a bit of a surprise, and no doubt disappointing,” Dylan said, “but that’s part of the game.”
Dylan Coffey is a rookie in the MHL, after three years at the Ontario Hockey Academy in Cornwall.
Through 30 games, he has five goals, 15 points and is the Tigers’ rabble-rouser with a team-high 76 penalty minutes.
In September, the Mount Pearl native attended the Acadie-Bathurst Titan’s QMJHL training camp as an undrafted free agent, and appeared in three exhibition games before returning to Campbellton, the team which drafted him in the fifth round in 2016.
“I’m hoping for another tryout next year,” he said. “Bathurst is going for it this season, with a lot of older players, so I’m hoping there will be some openings next year.”
Coming up through the local minor hockey ranks, Coffey played in the peewee and bantam Don Johnson Hockey League, and skated in Pat Yetman’s Action Hockey program.
Somewhat of a late-bloomer, Coffey didn’t really come into his own until his second year of midget hockey.
“I was always the smallest player,” said the now 6-1 centre/left-winger. “When I grew a bit, it started to come together for me and I had more confidence.”
Campbellton is third in the MHL’s North Division at 16-13-2-0. St. Stephen is last in the North with a 7-21-0-1 mark.
