'To him, everything's hockey', Capital City Condors fosters boy's love of hockey

Posted Feb 9, 2012 By Kristy Wallace

Click to Enlarge
Capital Condor player Connor Woodward, 11, gets laced up by his dad, Dave, to play some hockey on an outdoor rink at a neighbour's yard.

Kristy Wallace, Metroland

Capital Condor player Connor Woodward, 11, gets laced up by his dad, Dave, to play some hockey on an outdoor rink at a neighbour's yard.

EMC sports -Even when Connor Woodward stretches out on the couch to watch some cartoons at home, he has a mini hockey stick tucked under his arm.

Everything is hockey for Connor -he has a detailed list of past and current games that he updates with final results. Before he goes to bed, he asks his dad what the score of the game is that night on television. Dave, his father, said his 11 year-old son can even correctly predict who will win the Stanley Cup.

"He's been right three years in a row," said Dave, adding that his son knows who will win as early as October.

Connor also plays defence for the Capital City Condors -a hockey team that caters to young people ages six to 21 who have intellectual and physical disabilities.

It's his team, his tournament, and his game.

"The key thing for me is, they belong to a team," said Dave. "It's given him something that's his, and it's made a big difference."

Dave and Connor's mom, Anny, said they knew they had to get Connor enrolled in hockey when he started skating lessons. His parents remember how he always needed a hockey stick while skating.

The youngest of three children, Connor started playing regular entry-level hockey when he was about five years old, following his brother Bryce and sister Isabelle as they participated in hockey and other sports.

"We eventually had to change from regular hockey to the Condors because of Connor. But he was always going to play hockey," said Anny.

Dave added that Connor was able to play with Kanata Minor Hockey for an additional year, but he got bigger than the other kids as he got older and could no longer play.

Dave and Anny hadn't heard of the Capital City Condors, and they said it was a rough year for Connor who didn't have any other options.

"(My other children) were both in competitive hockey, and (Connor) had to leave hockey," said Dave. "We were still going to the rink all the time, and he was asking where's my hockey?"

Dave and Anny said they tried to get Connor involved in other sports that year, like special needs snowboarding -but for Connor, it wasn't hockey.

Anny said when the family found out about the Capital City Condors through friends, they enrolled their son as soon as they could.

When Connor is asked what his favourite NHL teams are, he takes a piece of paper and carefully writes the first letter of the teams' names -S, B, and P, which stands for the Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Someday, he said he would like to be a coach, referee and player for all three teams. But for now, he enjoys his role on the Capital City Condors.

Anny and Dave added that it's easy to get their son out the door and ready for hockey since he's so excited to play.

"You really have to prepare to get him ready (for other things), but when you say it's time for hockey, then boom -he's out the door," Dave said. "Hockey's pretty much the only thing he drops everything for. He's our biggest hockey fan, and he always has a hockey stick in hand. To him, everything's hockey."

kristy.wallace@metroland.com