POWASSAN, Ont. — A co-op with the Powassan Voodoos has turned into a hockey opportunity for 15-year-old West Ferris Secondary Student Dillon Anderson.
The young hockey enthusiast was surprised during an assembly by the Voodoos organization recently.
During the event, general manager Chris Dawson and president Jim Bruce announced that Anderson would become a junior scout with the hockey organization in front of his high school peers.
The school approached the Voodoos about an opportunity for Dillon to do some work with the team, but within a few weeks, Dawson realized there was something special about Anderson’s young hockey mind.
“We have never done anything like this before,” Dawson explained.
“Karen Bond, whose son Dylan, played for us this season, is one of his instructors and she reached out to me to see if there was a fit for him to do a co-op with the Voodoos. I started talking with Dillon and in February he started doing some work for us, compiling statistics, watching video, some very general assignments.
“It wasn’t until the Spring Camp when Dillon took the incentive of putting together descriptive scouting reports on the players that we were inviting to our main camp.
“At that point, as an organization, we collectively agreed to offer Dillon an opportunity to officially join the scouting staff as a junior scout,” Dawson continued.
Anderson, who has cerebral palsy, is hopeful his skills will eventually lead to a scouting career.
“I think I’ll probably be doing this for a long time. My goal is to move up to the OHL or NHL. It’s going to take a lot of hard work, but I’m up for the challenge,” stated Anderson.
Dawson believes nothing will hold Anderson back from pursuing his hockey dream.
“Dillon has a disability but he carries with him a very positive attitude and is a very intelligent, hard-working young man,” said Dawson.
“He is passionate about hockey and we really hope this can be the launching point for a successful career in hockey.”
Anderson and the rest of the hockey operations of the Voodoos will be back together at a Voodoos Prospects Camp in Powassan on July 27-28.
Photo credit: Tom Martineau
