Fab Five Maroons end their junior hockey careers on top

The large majority of junior hockey players end their careers with a loss.

Winning is hard. Only one team can hoist a championship trophy. For five Chatham Maroons players, they ended their junior hockey careers on a high note, winning the Sutherland Cup in St. Catharines on May 11.

Blain Bacik, Connor Hunt, Brody Gillis, Ryan Vannetten and Carter Gillen, can all say they won their last junior hockey game.

The Maroons typically load up their roster with prospects. Last year’s Maroons team had zero players in their last year. The 22-23 team only had one player in their last year of junior hockey.

Here’s a quick summary of the Maroons five overage players. All have different stories how they ended up in a Chatham uniform.

Blain Bacik

The Blenheim native played the past four years with the Maroons. His first year (2021-2022) the Maroons advanced to the Sutherland Cup final against St. Catharines. Bacik is the only player from that team that played for the Maroons this year.

Bacik played in a remarkable 220 regular season and playoff games with Chatham. He was captain the past two years. He was the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League defenceman of the year last season. He provided leadership, toughness, scoring and a steady presence on the blue line for the Maroons. Other than driving the team bus, Bacik did everything the Maroons needed the past four years.

The Sutherland Cup final just ended a couple of days ago, so it’s too soon to have this conversation, but there should be some thought about possibly retiring Bacik’s number two, to thank him for his leadership and play. Not to mention for his loyalty to sticking with the Maroons when he had opportunities to play high levels of hockey.

Brody Gillis

After beginning his Junior B career with LaSalle and London, Gillis joined the Maroons last year and was a point-a-game player last year and this year.

The LaSalle native provided size and playmaking for the Maroons.

Overall, Gillis played 109 games for Chatham in the regular season and playoffs. Overall, he played in 218 GOJHL games.

Connor Hunt

Simply put, the Center Hastings native has a pro level shot. Many nights he was the best player on the ice this season.

Hunt joined the Maroons this year and had 65 points in 42 games in the regular season. Hunt added 27 points in 25 playoff games.

He was drafted Kingston Frontenacs in 2021 OHL U18 Draft and played two years in the OJHL prior to coming to Chatham.

Carter Gillen

You have to appreciate Gillen’s style of play. A smaller player (five-eight), Gillen was a whirling dervish often taking control on the ice, setting up plays from his vantage point, while communicating with his teammates like a coach on the ice.

Gillen was a mid-season pick-up, coming over to the Maroons from the OJHL’s Leamington Flyers. The Royal Oak MI resident, played last year with the Kenai River Brown Bears in the NAHL.

Gillen was injured for part of the Maroons’ playoff run, but he scored a number of key goals for the Maroons in the playoffs and gave them solid play.

Ryan Vannetten

With the best nickname on the Maroons, Vannetten was a great pickup early in the season.

The Simcoe native played the past two seasons with the Niagara Ice Dogs in the Ontario Hockey League, playing in 121 OHL games.

Caught up in an OHL overage roster crunch, the man they call Chicken was attending Ridgetown College in the fall of 2024. A few Maroon players caught wind of his hockey background and Vannetten joined the Maroons in October. He made his Maroons debut with a three-point game on October 4 against St. Catharines.

An all-conference team selection. Vannetten’s experience and offensive skills were a key part of Chatham’s success. Vannetten had 44 points in 39 regular season games.