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31.1.9. Not that those northern Ontario tow Fyit unfriendly or so remote as to be unin- habitable. But the amount of travel, number of closely-bunched games and perpetual late nights can play havoc with both schoolwork and lifestyle of a teenage athlete. A year ago at this time, Don Beaupre wouldn’t hive given a nickel, plug or oth- erwise, for a chance to play Junior A hockey in Sudbury. - -iiGi'v,aiiCa"year with the Wolves under his belt, the former star Waterloo Siskin netminder can hardly wait to get Being chosen by any team far from one's home town can be a blow for any youngster entering Major A ranks, but most players will tell you that being cho- sen by Sudbury or Sault Ste. Marie is the "pits". F _ "auiieaupre is no exception. as he him- self admitted after his last game for the Waterloo Expos baseball club Friday night "Last year I missed 27 days of school my first semester alone," he said. "When you figure that comes to almost half the term. you can imagine how hard it was for me to adjust." Beaupre's first adjustment came last summer when he found he had been se- lected by the Sudbury club In the midget draft, He was shocked, to put it bluntly. "My initial reaction was that I didn't want to go up there at all. Actually I want- ed to go to Oshawa, Their loshawal gen- eral manager and chief scout came to Wa- terloo to visit me at the house and told me they expected to take me high in the draft All Sudbury did was phone me to ask if I would report if 1 was taken by them. I said yes, not thinking that it would ever hap- But as the draft unfolded. Beaupre. who had been an individual standout In his only year with the Siskins. wai snapped up by Wolves as the fourth pick In the third round Only one goalie went higher and that was Jim Ralph. who was unexpected- ly taken by Ottawa 67's even though he was only a minor midget age Beaupre meanwhile realized that if he was to continue his outstanding career, that Sudbury. at least for the time being. would have to be his launching pad He reported to camp With the same enthu- SIasm he showed Siskin fans the prevnous year Wolves played a Juggling game in goal early in the season, but after former Kitchener Ranger Ray Pilon was cut loose. the chore fell in the hands of Beaupre and former Bramalea Blue net- minder Jeff Wilson Because of the fact that Wolves had a green defence and an offenswely-minded club. most of Beaupre's stats can be thrown out the window The bottom line is that despite playing on a team Wllh the second worst defensive output in the lea- gue. Beaupre was chosen to the second All-star team. tied a team record of two shutouts set by Jim Bedard (now of the Washington Capitals) and missed out by one vote in the OMJHL rookie-of-the-year balloting "We averaged over 40 shots against us per game," said the slender goalie. "but I don't mind that at all I love to have lots of shots. it's been that way most of my career and I wouldn't want It any other way .. One of the highlights of Beaupre's we be season was when he came to Kitchener to play in front of many of tus family and friends against the Rangers Beaupre would not admit to it, but many Waterloo people felt Rangers were crazy not to snap up the gifted goalie con- siderrng the outstanding year he had in r wtefloo Don Beaupre wasn't thrilled to go to Sudbury, but he's since found X that life there ain't all that bad "My initial reaction was that I didn't want to go up there at all" \WaterIOO’s " . tilrorth Star tii.,ijii.'i, Chrbniclo Sports Editor By Rick eamgpou K -,mI'-zgwhv 12% ',ya,,i,tt.tgltit , .12. it" M." - f', (;h:'cl,t,';.f?g, DON BEAUPRE :MW asrtt A: or 29, ‘mém " 1977-78 right under their noses. And in hindsight, what with all their goaltending miseries of last year, obviously Rangers did commita major faugpas. "The first time we (Wolves) came to Kitchener Rev (Pilon) was still with the team and the coach started him because he knew the angles and the rink. But he was out next time we came and I played and we won 5-2. What was even better was that Dale Hunter and Frank Perkins, who were traded to Mun by the Ringers, had great games and were chosen stars."" Much at the reason for Wolves success last year lies with Beaupre who despite some high scores, literally held his mates in the game on more than one occasion. Their explosiveness, led try Mike Foligno (third over-all in 1979 NHL draft) and Dave McQueen, with 65 and 60 goals re- spectively. was never questioned but little emphasis was placed on definding their GK which brbught Beaupre under eon- stant fire from opposirgteart1's srtiers. But more than anything else, Wolves season was shaped as it is every year by the team's ability to handle the arduous schedule. "We usually played three-game wee- kends on the road and nearly every trip was overnight except when we went to the Sault." said Beaupre. "That was our shor- test trip and it was three hours. Last year I found with so many games in such short periods of time we either played really well all the way through or stunt the whole weekend .. Part of the problem of constantly tra- veling and being away from school is alle- viated by the fact that Wolves public rela- tions man Glen Yank, also happens to be the principal of Sudbury High, the school Beaupre attends. Beaupre, a former stu- dent at St Jerome's in Kitchener, said that helped a great deal but that the edu- cation end of things was still a major grind, “I'd have to say my average dropped about lor; from last year," said Beaupre, who will be entering grade 13 this fall, “I just found I had to-budget my spare time more carefully and work harder when I was home for a while. And it was a big decision whether to stay on (he did? after hockey was over too _, Most of the Wolves are not students though, and with the major INCO strike paralyzing the town last winter. life often dragged during the day 886-2830 "The guys not going to school couldn't get jobs so they just usually went to the rink first thing In the morning and hung around until practice time Whenever 1 got a spare rd usually drop down too ". Some of the nicer Impressions Beaupre got of the City included the family he boarded With who took to him as their adopted son. and the fans. who supported the club throughout the season right unto Its dwtstott final loss to eventual e- mortal Cup champion Peterborough Petes _ “We‘re the main attraction up there in the winter and despite the strike and the financial situation they Hans) stuck by us all year .. Those are two of the reasons why Beaupre, who has this year and next year left in junior, IS looking forward to his departure to the north tomorrow Wolves have invited approximately 75 bodies to camp including eight goalies. and as Beaupre pointed out, you never can tell what will happen But it is safe to say that he figures largely in their plans this season "I tried to get off next weekend to go to OBA with the Expos. but our (Sudbury) coach Mndy Laing) said to me 'what sport are you going to play for a living?" Good point, coach A damn good point