Summers looks to shine on the ice for Wolverines

Fifteen-year-old Sam Summers gets up every morning and is lifting weights by 7:25 a.m., before school starts.

The Columbia Falls sophomore skips lunch so he can work on homework and then is out of school by 1:30 p.m., a couple of hours earlier than most of his classmates, so he can head to the Stumptown Ice Den for hockey practice in Whitefish.

Practice runs until 3:45 p.m. followed by another hour of weight lifting. Then it’s home to supper, a little precious free time and bed. This is the routine, every weekday.

“It destroys your social life,” he said recently.

Summers loves hockey and is the youngest member of the Whitefish Wolverines.

The team plays in the Western States Hockey League, where young players hone their skills before college and developmental professional leagues.

Most of the players are older, however, 18 to 20, and many aren’t from the U.S. The Wolverines have several players from Sweden, Canada and Russia. Summers is the only player from Columbia Falls and is likely the youngest player in the entire league.

He isn’t big, 5-foot-7 and 152 pounds, but he loves to compete. He’s been playing hockey since he was five, when his family lived in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The family moved here when he was seven and he started out playing in hockey leagues in Whitefish and then for the Flathead Fusion, a valleywide high school team based in Kalispell.

But Summers wanting to test his skills and face tougher competition, he tried out for the Wolverines and made the squad. Summers has no illusions about the league.

“It’s where players go to die or seize an opportunity to take their game to the next level,” he said.

Summers plays center and is much smaller than most of his teammates.

“I get banged around a lot,” he said with a shrug.

His hope is to attend North Dakota State University. The Wolverines travel extensively across the West, facing teams in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. They also travel to the Western States Hockey League College Showcase in Las Vegas, Nev.

The event attracts college recruiters and pro scouts, notes Josh Steel, the Wolverine’s general manager.

Summers credits his coach, Joakim Falt, and former pro Murray Craven, who coached him in younger leagues, for his success.

“I wouldn’t have been here without Murray and Joakim,” he said.

As a rookie, Summers also endures a fair amount of grunt work. He loads the bus, carries other players’ bags — he even unties their skates once in awhile. But there’s a greater goal out there.

“I’d love to be a professional,” Summers said.

For the Wolverines’ complete schedule and more information, visit online at http://whitefishwolverines.pointstreaksites.com.