Nineteen-year-old Gavin Yee joined the Peninsula Panthers midway through last season in a deal with the Saanich Braves. Going the other way was the feisty Michael Sproule. Yee flourished on the Peninsula under the tutelage of Head Coach Brad Tippett and this summer things became interesting for the crafty and offensive defenceman. Yee was offered a chance to play Junior A in Ontario but was also offered a unique opportunity when the Chinese U20 Team came calling. The Chinese will run their program out of Toronto and it looks like the roster will consist of six players from North America and the balance of the players coming over from China.
Yee and his parents were faced with a decision involving two completely different paths to take. One was quite conventional while the other, involving the Chinese U20 Club, was certainly off the grid. A short poem by Robert Frost seemed applicable:
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
Yes, Yee has decided to take the road less travelled
however, the decision did not come without some soul-searching. Yee and his Mom attended meetings in Vancouver with the management of the program no less than four times and after a lot of questions followed by more questions, the family made the decision.
"I'm really excited and grateful to have the opportunity to be playing for the U20 China National Development Program out in Toronto," said the obviously excited rear guard. "The Chinese have put together an amazing program and I can't wait to get going."
Yee had a great season with the Panthers and began to show some promise which drew the attention of the Chinese. "Having an opportunity to play for the Peninsula Panthers this year was one of the best things to happen to my hockey career. The coaching staff has really helped me shape myself into a more well-rounded D-man. Brad (Head Coach Brad Tippett) has been a big part in helping me move on in hockey this off-season and without his support I don't think I would have been able to. I'm going to miss the coaching and all of my teammates from last season."
The Panthers have had a great start in retooling the Club but will undoubtedly miss Yee and what he brought to the Organization.
Tippett shared his thoughts. "Gavin jumped in right away with enthusiasum. For coaches the most common challenge is to get them turned up. With Gavin that was never an issue. In fact, turning him down and getting more focus was the issue. It took channeling that reckless abandon to maximize his great skills. The OT winner he scored in the last regular season game of the season was a huge boost going into the Wild Card game. Like Drew Coughlin, we knew making the deal with the Saanich Braves involved the risk in that the player might move up. The Chinese U20 option came out of the blue and is a very unique opportunity. Good things happen to good kids - we are proud to add Gavin to the list of Panthers development stories."
The road less travelled is Eastbound and it will have one extra person wandering down the path.
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