The ultimate high of winning the organizations first President Cup in 2006 and the agony of the Memorial Cup loss on home ice to end the season still weighed heavy on the organization, the fans and the entire City of Moncton. Everyone knew what was going to come next, junior hockey’s dreaded cycle.
After a few tough seasons the Moncton Wildcats looked to add another cornerstone to the organization with the 1st overall selection in the 2009 QMJHL Entry Draft. They found a match made in heaven by selecting the pride of Murray River, PEI Brandon Gormley.
“It was a great experience and such an exciting time as a young player,” said Gormley when asked about his draft day experience.
“At that point you’re not thinking about very much, you’re just playing your minor hockey, and all of sudden the draft talk starts to come up, it was such a special time especially for me growing up in PEI,” explained Gormley.
Gormley and his family made the trek to Moncton countless times to watch QMJHL games. “My parents would take us over and have little vacations in Moncton, and we would get to go to some games at the Coliseum. I still remember those games and watching some of those players.”
“Those players were idols to us growing up,” confessed Gormley.
It’s incredibly difficult not to take notice when your name is mentioned in the upper echelon of the prospects coming into the QMJHL. Gormley was definitely aware of the attention he was garnering around the 2009 draft.
“It was really cool to have the draft come up, with all of the rankings and stuff you never know where you’re going to go, but it was cool for me to see Moncton in the mix where I was going to be.”
“It was just a perfect situation for me to be drafted to Moncton,” said a reflective Gormley.
The excitement surrounding Gormley joining the Wildcats was palpable. “Obviously, going first overall was special in its own right.”
“At the end of the day, I was really excited to go to Moncton, and play for Wildcats which is a great organization. Being so close to home, Moncton was a perfect destination for me.”
Gormley remembers draft day like it was yesterday. “The draft was in Cape Breton and my entire family was able to attend. It was a very special time. The draft is the first step of your career; it really gets real when you get into junior.”
Gormley is quick to praise the QMJHL for how they showcase the future of the league at the draft. “The league does a great job with draft, from going on stage to putting the jersey on, it’s special.”
“I still remember going around the table and meeting all of the staff, it’s not much different than the NHL draft,” said the former NHL 1st rounder.
“It’s a cool moment, something that I’ll never forget, it’s fun to think back on it now, hearing my name called and walking down that long aisle to get to the stage.”
“It’s a very special time to think back on now,” Gormley said.
Did Gormley feel any additional pressure from high expectations and being the “go to guy” or the “saviour” of the Wildcats by being the 1st overall selection?
“You definitely come in with some expectations of being number one overall and I still remember my first training camp feeling a little bit of that off the get go, but with the guys that we had there at the time really helped.”
“We had such a great group of leaders,” stressed Gormley.
“We had some great older guys and great coaching with Danny Flynn and Fabian Joseph, they were awesome for me.”
“They really helped that entire process, so you could just focus on the hockey part of it, and just going to play, I never really got caught in the whole being a number one overall pick.”
“At the end of the day there’s guys that got picked on the 6th or 7th round, and they come in with same mindset of making the team no matter where you get drafted. There’s always an opportunity to go out there and perform and play and you know that was in my head early on that it doesn’t really matter where you go, you have to go play and do your thing and have some fun with it.”
“You definitely try not to put too much thought or too much pressure on yourself because that doesn’t work out that good usually.”
Gormley’s impact on the organization was almost instant, on and off of the ice. Gormley’s ability to play at both ends of the ice and offensive upside made the Wildcats an instant contender. Gormley recorded 27 pts. in 62 games as a 16-year-old rookie and would add 4pts in 10 playoff games in the 2008-09 season. Every organization wants to hit on draft picks, build through the draft and win championships. How special and rewarding was that for Gormley to be part of each one of those stages and have that 2010 championship legacy with the Moncton Wildcats organization?
“It was definitely rewarding, and probably more so right now even looking back how much more that means to me now given the time that has past,” Gormley said.
“When you’re going through it you don’t really think in those terms, but it’s particularly special to go in there and be a part of that.”
“The Wildcats had a lot of success in the past and we are all aware of the cycle that junior hockey has. That’s the cool thing about that level it is a cycle, the Cats hosted the Memorial Cup a few years before me, so you obviously load up for that, so I came in at a time where they had a couple rough years and kind of turn things around.”
Gormley remembers his first foray in the league and how that team may have overachieved that season, but how they grew as a unit. “No one gave us much of a chance that season, but we ended up making the playoffs. Going in there after those tough years and being a piece of that puzzle needing to have team success, you sort of start from the ground up and try to build something. That first year we have overachieved, but when you come back with the same core group of guys, all of us were a year older, we all took that next step together to be a powerhouse and were able to win a championship,” Gormley said.
“You definitely take pride to turn that ship around pretty quick. We had so many good players and such a good staff, everything was clicking there together that year and it all came together for us.”
“I’m still a little rattled about that Memorial Cup it would have been nice to get that one but looking back I’m still very proud of the career in Moncton, and it’s definitely fun to look back on.”
Gormley offered this piece of advice to the Wildcats 1st overall selection.
“I think you really have to try enjoy the experience and soak up that experience of the draft. It is a very special time, and they do such a good job with it, I think it’s important to realize that you work extremely hard to get to that point and even though it’s very early on in your career, but it’s still a cool milestone to hit.”
“Number one overall is definitely special, it’s a great achievement, but they really need to try to take some time to soak that in with friends and family, because they earned it.”
“But in the same breath I would say, it’s time to get back to work, training camp comes up and then you experience the business of hockey which starts early in junior. It doesn’t really matter where you go in the draft, from first overall, or in the later rounds, everyone has to come and earned their spot.”
“It doesn’t really matter if it’s junior or the NHL, the quicker you learn that the better off you will be.” Gormley’s fondest memories wearing the Wildcat are too plentiful to recall, the championship in 2010 no doubt takes the cake. “There were a lot of fond memories, obviously, winning the championship and that playoff run was one of them, winning it at home in front of our fans, that was definitely a highlight,” Gormley said.
“It was so special with those guys, you work so hard for a couple of years to build it, and for it to just work out and to win it at home against Saint John, it was such a rivalry.”
“We had such a hard road to the finals that year, it was such a hard grid for us. I remember that feeling of skating around the ice with the Cup and having our fans there and being able to celebrate with everyone was special,” Gormley said.
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