Promising future on the horizon for Tampa Bay’s Goudreau By Matt Mackinder
“Jared has worked hard to become the player he J
ared Goudreau doesn’t turn 17 until
May, but speaks with the maturity level of someone much older. And plays like a
veteran, too. Goudreau, the
Tampa Bay Juniors forward Jared Goudreau. Photo/KG Photo
fourth-leading scorer for the Tampa Bay Juniors of the Eastern Junior Hockey League South (EJHL South), has played the past
seven seasons in Ellenton after being born in New Hampshire, but a move south when he was nine enabled him to keep playing the game. “Hockey is life up north,” said Goudreau, a Lithia
native. “It’s funny, too, because when we moved down here, the hockey became more advanced. You’d think it would be the other way around, but playing for coaches here like Fred Eaton and Brett Strot (with the Juniors) has done so much for me and have helped me realize that with hard work, I could be able to play hockey for a long, long time.” Just what position was originally the question for
Goudreau. From the time he was nine until he was 12, Goudreau was a goalie, but switched back to for- ward when he got to Pee Wees because he realized he “could be a pretty good player” and that’s when Eaton took Goudreau under his wing.
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is today,” said Eaton. “Was it always easy? No, but the biggest problem he faced was being too hard on himself. He has all the tools in the world and his work ethic both has stepped up over the years. Jared doesn’t just say he’s going to do it, he does it. That to me is what separates the average player from an elite player.”
Starting out in Florida with the Ellenton Eels (later
renamed the Gulf Coast Flames), Goudreau won three state titles (two Bantam AA with the Flames, one 16U AAA with the Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning), one nationals runner-up (two years ago with the Bantam AA team) and has oozed confidence since landing in Florida.
“I owe a lot of credit to Fred as he was the one that got me to where I was ready to make the jump to junior hockey,” said Goudreau. “Brett is one of those coaches that doesn’t yell and is very much an instructional coach. My teammates are like that, too, especially my linemates, Daniel Clifford and Mi- chael Peletier.” After last year’s state title with the Jr. Lightning,
teams from the Boston area took notice of Gou- dreau’s game and several made him offers to head north. In the end, Goudreau decided to stay home. “The biggest thing for me choosing to stay in
Tampa was that, to be honest, I wasn’t ready to leave home yet,” Goudreau said. “Everything would have happened so fast and I just wasn’t ready to go through so much change in a short amount of time. “Jared had some questions about the northern junior offers and I had the chance to go over our
program and the benefits of remaining at home,” said Strot. “At 16, this is a critical stage in a player’s physi- cal and mental development and our program fits perfectly into Jared’s future goals.” “When Brett gave me that option, I took some time to think about it,” said Goudreau. “I looked at the whole program that he could offer me and along with the hockey, the training program Brett has is unbelievable. He teaches the speed of the game and the mental side of the game and I thought that could be beneficial to me, so I gave it a shot.” Looking ahead, Goudreau is mature in his realistic
approach to his future. “Playing for the Juniors this season has been a great experience and even though my goal is to play in the United States Hockey League (USHL) and then go on to Division I college, I certainly wouldn’t mind com- ing back here next season,” said Gou- dreau. “It’s really a great situation and I enjoy coming to the rink every- day.”
Homegrown Tampa Bay Juniors rookie forward Jared Goudreau has handled himself extremely well this season in the EJHL South. Photo/ Tampa Bay Juniors
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