Varga finds a fit in Wisconsin
Ben Varga knew his hockey future was on the line this season.
The 20-year-old Burlington native joined the Thorold Blackhawks this year in hopes of securing significant playing time in order to attract the attention of scouts and perhaps play at the NCAA level next season.
Varga quickly established himself as a reliable, puck-moving defenceman for the Blackhawks and this week committed to the Northland College Lumberjacks, a Division 3 team which plays in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
“If I didn’t have a great year and didn’t play a lot, I don’t think I would have gone to school for hockey next year,” he said. “Scott (Thorold coach Scott Barnes) gets all the credit. I played some big minutes and got some big ice time and got that exposure.”
Varga said former Blackhawks forward Brendan Charlton, who is in his first season at Northland, played a part in the process.
“He told them about me and they came and watched me play and I played a pretty good game and they asked me to come and visit,” Varga said. “I visited about a month-and-a-half ago. It reminded me of when I played my first year of junior in the Maritimes.
“It was a no-brainer. It felt like home.”
Northland is located in northern Wisconsin, but the distance didn’t deter Varga.
“Not a whole lot. It felt like home so I really didn’t think about the distance that much.”
It also didn’t hurt he was able to garner some financial help through an academic scholarship which will cut the cost of attending the school in half.
Varga, who plans to major in business sports marketing, is relieved to have his future mapped out.
“That’s the best part, you know where you’re going and you can just work towards that one goal rather than being unsure of what’s going on next year,” he said. “It’s nice, for sure.”
Varga feels he will be able to step into significant role as a freshman.
“They said right away they want you in a big role,” he said. “I felt wanted there and that’s a big thing for me. I want to play. They said the first year I should be getting a regular spot in the lineup.”
Varga is the second Blackhawk to secure a D3 spot for next season after Trevor Neumann committed to Morrisville State.
“Our goal is to move guys on, whether they’re 20 or 16, it doesn’t really matter,” Barnes said. “When I took this organization, that’s one of the things I focused on, giving opportunities to guys to advance and to help them along.
“That’s what we’re trying to be known as, a team that moves players on and we’ve done a pretty good job of that in the last two years.”
Barnes feels the Blackhawks now have a good reparation for moving players to the next level.
“Next year, if we’re talking to a 20-year-old and D3 is looking like their path, it will be a pretty easy sell,” Barnes said. “You’ll have just a good a chance playing D3 playing here as somewhere else.
“It’s also good for guys, maybe we can keep the motivation up and if you have a good year anything is possible and maybe you can get something out of it.”
The Blackhawks are home to Welland Thursday and in St. Catharines Friday.
Thorold are still without defencemen Nick Gidney (leg laceration) and Ethan Mercer (knee). Gidney could return next week but Mercer’s injury is considered more serious.
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