Playing in the Manitoba Junior

Hockey League didn ’ t work out the way Gianluca Esteves had hoped .

Unlike players such as Brady Keeper at OCN , Tyler Jubinvill in Winkler , Zach Whitecloud in Virden and Brendan Harms and Brett Orr in Portage , NCAA Division 1 university hockey programs didn ’ t seem to have the same interest in him . Winnipeg ’ s Esteves decided to try the North American Hockey League and this past summer , after one year with the NAHL ’ s Aston ( Philadelphia ) Rebels , his decision to go south turned out to be better than he ever could have imagined .

Gianluca ( Geno ) Esteves had to find a new route . At the time , he was 19-years-old and had just finished two solid seasons with the Manitoba Junior Hockey League ’ s Winnipeg Blues .

He had no bad feelings about the experience . After all , in 2014-15 , he had 14 goals and 26 points in 52 games as a 17-year-old and 12 goals and 39 points in 56 games as an 18-year-old . He enjoyed playing for the Blues .

Still , he didn ’ t feel as if anyone scouting at the next level was interested in what he had to offer . So , when he got an opportunity to take a chance with the Aston ( now Philadelphia ) Rebels of the North American Hockey League , he decided to give it a shot . Nothing ventured , nothing gained , he figured .

“ I had played for the Blues and things hadn ’ t gone as well as I ’ d hoped ,” he conceded . “ I had an opportunity to go to Pennsylvania to play in the NAHL and I thought , well why not ? I just didn ’ t feel like I was getting any exposure in the

MJHL . Maybe it was just me , but the chance came up to play in Aston , so I thought I should give it a try .

“ The change of scenery was the right move for me at the right time . It was a great team with a great coach and a great group of guys .”

It ’ s not a decision for everyone , although to be fair , it has worked for other players . Former Blues left winger Reid Stefanson from Winnipeg decided to leave the MJHL and play for the NAHL ’ s Minot Minotauros last season and he received a scholarship to UMass-Lowell and Winnipegger Colin Burston ,