Tyler Virgoe is back playing for his hometown Aurora Tigers. The veteran Junior A player toiled with the Seguin Bruins before being traded back to Aurora.
Aurora
September 30, 2008 10:15 AM
John Cudmore, Staff Writer
For Aurora Tigers’ defenceman Tyler Virgoe, this season is a homecoming.
And the 19-year-old Aurora resident is hoping to make the most of it.
A member of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Seguin Bruins the past two seasons, Virgoe made his way home earlier this month in a deal in which the Tigers swap players to the Bruins in exchange for the former captain.
“I asked to come to Aurora,” said the 19-year old, who still has two years of eligibility remaining at the junior level. “I went back to Seguin but wasn’t happy there. It took a long time but it got done.”
He played one game for the Bruins this season before the deal was completed.
“It’s easier to live at home,” he said. “I paid my dues. I told (Bruins’ management) I needed out. It’s nice to play now in the rink I grew up playing in.”
Virgoe played through the ranks of Aurora Minor Hockey Association, starting at the house league level right through the single-A and double-A teams until playing his minor midget season for the triple-A York Simcoe Express.
“A lot of my friends are on this team,” he said. “It was neat training with them then coming back and telling them I’m playing with them.”
The change of address means Virgoe sacrificed the captain’s role. But it doesn’t mean he can’t still be a voice in the Tigers’ dressing room.
“It’s nice not being looked upon to do everything,” he conceded. “It’s nice to come to a team where everyone can lead. I can chip in here and there.”
He is also aware of the Tigers’ track record both on and off the ice as he hopes to earn an NCAA scholarship and pursue a career in journalism.
“There’s a lot of pressure to perform here but they do everything they can to prepare you to win,” said Virgoe, who despite missing 17 games last season with a concussion was named Seguin’s MVP.
Tigers’ head coach Jerome Dupont is confident in Virgoe’s abilities to help the club. “He’s a well-rounded defenceman with great mobility,” he said.
In his first junior camp experience Virgoe didn’t crack the Tigers roster which went on to win the 2006 national championship. He didn’t receive an offer from the Newmarket Hurricanes, either, but followed the call of the northernmost team in the league.
“(Seguin) is a completely different atmosphere,” said Virgoe, who attended Cardinal Carter Catholic High School before joining the Bruins. “Everyone runs on their own time but sometimes you outgrow situations. I loved it there and matured as a person.”