Game On Magazine 2017 December 2017 | Page 99

AS TOLD TO CARTER BROOKS Photos by James Carey Lauder Can’t Miss Him in a Crowd I N T E RV I E W BRETT LERNOUT HEIGHT / 6’ 4 WEIGHT / 215 AGE / 22 HE’S A GUY WHO STICKS OUT in a crowd. At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, 22-year-old Winnipeg-born defenseman Brett Lernout is making his presence felt with the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League. After three seasons in the Western Hockey League, Lernout was selected in the third round (73rd overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2014 NHL entry draft out of the Swift Current Broncos. Although he’s played only three games in the National Hockey League, he has made a smooth transition to the AHL and now plays for the Canadiens’ top farm club, the Laval Rocket. Long, lean and bearded, he’d make a great motorcycle gang member, but the fact is, Lernout is a tough, but easy going member of the Rocket who has long been one of hockey’s top prospects. The former Winnipeg Sharks Bantam, Warriors City Midget and Wild Provincial Midget star, Lernout actually played six games with the Steinbach Pistons of the MJHL before heading out to play for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. In late November, Lernout made his first visit as a professional hockey player to Winnipeg’s Bell MTS Place, and Game On Magazine’s Associate Editor Carter Brooks caught up to him to talk all things hockey. From Lernout’s favourite Manitoba golf course, to thoughts on his long-haired, bearded look, Lernout covered all three zones of the rink. BORN / SEPT 24 1995 DEFENSE SHOOTS RIGHT DECEMB ER 2017 | GAME ON | 9 9