Game On Magazine 2017 Nov Game On low res | Page 54

the Jets or Moose. Many of
these pros – guys such as J.P.
Vigier, Trevor Kidd, Terry
Yake and Jim Benzelock –
played a lot of pro hockey
and have often worked with
Jordy Douglas and his crew
on various projects. Strome
wants to make sure all of
those Manitoba-based ex-
players still have a place with
the Winnipeg Jets Alumni
and Friends association.
It’s a perfect job for
Strome, a sales professional,
who had one of the most
interesting hockey careers
one could imagine.
In fact, this is a guy who
played seven years of pro
hockey for 10 teams, in three
leagues, in two countries
on two continents.
*Also attended 3 AHL
training camps and was
invited to Florida Panthers
main camp in 2004 –
which unfortunately
didn’t happen due to the
NHL lockout that year.
“I started playing at Sir
John Franklin and River
Heights,” Strome explained. “I
moved on to the Assiniboine
Park Rangers and then played
high school hockey for Grant
Park and then at Kelvin. I
didn’t make Triple A hockey,
but had a great experience
playing high school. I was
fortunate to have excellent
coaching at Kelvin, including
Bruce Sirrell, Larry Woo,
and Tim Friesen who really
helped prepare me for Jr. A.”
“I actually made the
Blues as a 17-year old, but
decided it would be better
to finish my grade 12 year
with Kelvin. Then, at 18, I
played the full season for
the Blues under head coach
Doug Stokes. From there, I
got a scholarship to UMass-
Lowell, the same school
Connor Hellebuyck played at.
After college, I played in the
Central League and the East
Coast League and then, when
I was 27, finally went over
and played a year in Europe.”
Strome still speaks fondly of
his season with Odense in the
Danish League, especially after
playing five seasons in Wichita
(CHL), Lubbock (CHL), Long
Beach (ECHL), Florida (ECHL),
South Carolina (ECHL), Rocky
Mountain (CHL), Lubbock
again and finally a full season
with the CHL’s Texas Brahmas.
“I really enjoyed Denmark,”
he said. “I loved the culture
and was kind of amazed to
learn that almost everyone
could speak English. Movies
and some TV channels were
in English, although grocery
shopping and reading local
menus was often a test. I
STROME CARRIES THE PUCK TO A 34-GOAL SEASON
IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUE IN 2008
5 4 | G AM E ON | N OVEM BER 2017
had a solid year (26 goals
and 45 points in 44 games),
but decided to play another
year in North America
before calling it quits.”
Although he gave up
the pros to start using his
business degree from UMass-
Lowell (the alma mater of Jets
goaltender Connor Hellebuyck,
as well), he didn’t give up
hockey. He played in the
Southeast Senior League with
Carman, Plum Coulee, Winkler
and Portage and played in
four Allan Cup championships
with the South East Prairie
Thunder (2011, 2012, 2014)
and with the Ile-des-Chenes
North Stars (2016). But when
the opportunity arose for
him to get back in the game
at the executive level with
True North, he jumped at it.
“With operating an NHL
team and an AHL team in the
same market, there are many
demands on our organization
for our players,” said Rob
Wozny, the Vice-President
of Communications and
Community Engagement
for True North Sports and
Entertainment. “Creating
the role of Director, Player
and Alumni Relations was
a necessity to support the
community’s interest and
maintain and enhance
partnerships that request
to work with our players.
After the Heritage Classic,
we launched the Winnipeg
Jets Alumni & Friends, and
that’s now another emerging
group of players excited to
become re-engaged with the
city and our passionate fan
base. It’s also another key
reason why we recruited
and hired Anders.”
Strome is 36 now and has
a young, growing family.
He’s thrilled to be back
in hockey and couldn’t
imagine working for a better
organization than True North.
Sometimes hockey
dreams do come true. Just
in different ways. ❍