Surrey hockey player Quin Lenihan, a former Earl Marriott Secondary student and member of the Surrey Eagles, is doing something this week that only a handful of junior-hockey players get to do – play for a national junior ‘A’ title at the RBC Cup.
And Lenihan – who now plays for the Trenton Golden Hawks of the Ontario Junior Hockey League – joined an even more select group when he first stepped onto the ice at the RBC last weekend because he’s competing at the prestigious tournament for a second time.
Trenton has yet to win a game at the RBC Cup, which this year is being played in Cobourg, Ont. On Saturday, they opened to the tournament with a 3-2 loss to the host Cobourg Cougars, and Sunday fell 3-2 to Quebec’s Cobras de Terrebone, despite leading 2-0 after two periods. On Tuesday, the Alberta champion Brooks Bandits – led by potential top-10 NHL draft pick Cale Makar – beat Lenihan’s crew, 8-0.
Trenton wrapped up its RBC schedule Wednesday evening against the BCHL champion Penticton Vees.
Lenihan, who attends the University of Western Ontario in addition to playing for the Golden Hawks, played a total of 59 games for the Surrey Eagles between 2013 and 2015, including a 2014-15 season in which he played 55 games and tallied 13 points while also serving as the team’s Swiss Army knife of sorts – though primarily a forward, he also logged plenty of minutes on defence as the team struggled that season with injuries.
He was traded from the Birds that off-season – in exchange for goaltender Mark LaForest – and saw his playing rights transfered numerous times that summer, from the Manitoba League’s Portage Terriers to the Superior International Junior Hockey League’s Fort Frances Lakers before finally ending up in Trenton.
The RBC Cup playoff rounds begin Saturday with the final set for Sunday afternoon.