The ECHL's Best Rearguard

As I settle back into life after taking a small break this weekend, the man to the left caught my eye for the honour he grabbed this season. If you're a fan of AUS hockey, you likely know that the man in the image is former UPEI Panthers defenceman Owen Headrick. Headrick was an soldi contributor on the Panthers' blue line in 2018-19 after arriving in Charlottetown from the OHL's Erie Otters, but he showed exactly what kind of incredible two-way defender he could be in 2019-20 as he scored at better than a point-per-game pace while finishing third on the Panthers in scoring. He'd play 18 more games at UPEI in 2021-22, but it was clear that he was destined for bigger and better things if and when he decided to pursue them.

Headrick, who comes from the Garden River First Nation near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, graduated in the spring of 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in applied communication, leadership and culture. He decided to stay at the university and continue to play hockey in 2021-22 as he took the the 16-month Master of Education program at UPEI. After missing a full year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Headrick wanted his last year in U SPORTS to be his best.

"Going into my last year, I want to win," Headrick told Jason Malloy of the Annapolis Valley Register on July 25, 2021. "That's the main reason I am coming back – because I think we have the team to do it this year."

Unfortunately for Headrick, UPEI ran into the Saint Mary's Huskies who used a 6-5 double-overtime win in Game One and a 3-1 win in Game Two to eliminate the Panthers from the playoffs that season, but there was no doubt that Headrick had made an impact with UPEI. He was the 2020 UPEI Male Athlete of the Year, the Panthers' team MVP for his 13-goal, 32-point season in 2020, a first team AUS all-star, and a U SPORTS Second-Team All-Canadian while serving as the team's assistant captain in his second season. He'd return and be named captain of the Panthers in 2021-22, but the lure of the professional game was an opportunity that Headrick couldn't pass up as he signed a professional tryout contract with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch in mid-January of 2022.

"I decided to focus on my hockey right now," Headrick told Sam Laskaris of Windspeaker.com. "I can always go back and finish (the Master's degree) at some point if I want."

While he was eight credit hours short of his Master's Degree, he may have had enough time to complete the work needed as he appeared in just three games for the Crunch before suffering an injury. He worked through his recovery and found himself as a free agent, and the Texas Stars wanted him in their organization as they offered him a one-year deal through the 2022-23 season! While the 25 year-old only got into one game with Texas, it was in their ECHL affiliate's city where Headrick was a star.

Headrick played like a man possessed as he helped the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads post an ECHL-best 58-11-3 record this past season while personally scoring 15 goals and 39 assists in 61 games. Those totals alone would be impressive for a rookie forward, but Headrick was leading the ECHL in scoring by a defenceman in February when he was recalled by Texas. He'd finish the season tied with Wichita's Cole McDonald at 54 points, but had recorded an ECHL-best 15 goals from the blue line! Headrick was also just as good in the Kelly Cup Playoffs where he scored three goals and added 16 helpers in 20 games as the Steelheads fell just short of their goal in losing the Kelly Cup Final to the Florida Everblades.

Nonetheless, Headrick compiled a season for the ages, and the ECHL's coaches, broadcasters, media relations directors, and media members recognized his outstanding season by naming Owen Headrick as the league's Defenceman of the Year in 2022-23, beating out Idaho teammate Matt Register, Greenville's Max Martin, Orlando's Michael Brodzinski, and Wichita's Cole MacDonald. While none of this comes as a surprise to those of us who follow U SPORTS hockey after watching Headrick play so well for UPEI, Headrick did something only three other players - Gwinnett's Sacha Guimond, Dayton's Brandon Smith, and Erie's Kelly Szautner - have done in ECHL history as he became the fourth rookie to win the Defenseman of the Year Award! On top of that, Headrick was also named to the ECHL's All-Rookie Team and the All-ECHL First Team!

I'm not saying that Headrick will be back in Idaho next season, but there's a very good chance that several teams will come calling after a season like he had! Congratulations, Owen!

It isn't often that U SPORTS gets to celebrate one of the players they had a significant hand in developing, but Owen Headrick should be headlining their webpage as a success story. Except he's not. Maybe they're leaving that up to the AUS to cover since Headrick was a player in their conference. Except they didn't do that either. Perhaps those two organizations are letting UPEI celebrate Headrick's success after he skated for them. Except that didn't happen.

What did happen was that Soo Thunderbirds - a team in the NOJHL he skated for nine years ago - posted the achievement on their site. What did happen was the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League - a league Headrick played in nine years ago - celebrated his achievement. Why is it that the Soo Thunderbirds and the NOJHL understand that this is good marketing for that team and league, respectively, but U SPORTS, the AUS, and the UPEI Panthers can't even post a statement on their websites? If you want to know why U SPORTS and its respective conferences and members are seen as "bush league", this lack of celebrating Owen Headrick's achievement is Exhibit A in that case.

When an Indigenous player who honed his craft at the U SPORTS level in Canada and reaches a pinnacle in the ECHL in first season like Owen Headrick did, there should be fireworks going off at U SPORTS' offices. Instead, it was business as usual since last Wednesday where they have their head in the sand when it comes to generating any sort of positive momentum heading into the 2023-24 season. Should we really be surprised?

Owen Headrick deserves all the kudos for his incredible season with Idaho where he was the circuit's best rearguard while being named as one of the best rookies and one of the league's best players. He earned every bit of those accolades this season, and he'll have his choice of who he plays with next season. I'm excited to see Headrick play next year already, and I'm hoping he puts together an even better season than this season's award-winning campaign.

Congratulations to Owen Headrick, the 2022-23 ECHL Defenceman of the Year with the Idaho Steelheads!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!