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Noah Bradburn lines up for a face-off against Father Gabriel Richard High School during his senior year on the Skyline hockey team.

As time wound down and the buzzer sounded on Feb. 28, 2019, Skyline senior Noah Bradburn hung his head on the way to the locker room after playing his final high school hockey game.

Following a record setting career with Skyline, Noah Bradburn is taking the next step in his hockey career, playing junior hockey over 500 miles away in Pembroke, Ontario, Canada.

“I’m kind of on two teams right now,” Bradburn said. “I’m technically playing for Whitewater, but I’m practicing with Pembroke.” The Pembroke Lumber Kings are in the Central Canada Hockey tier 1 league (CCHL) and the Whitewater Kings are in the CCHL tier 2 league (CCHL2). Although many CCHL players are from the Ontario area, Bradburn is one of the few from Michigan.

“I’m living with a billet family and a roommate that plays for the team,” Bradburn said. “There really isn’t much to do except play hockey up here.” In his last season with Skyline, Bradburn recorded 29 goals and 14 assists for 43 points in 22 games (1.95 points per game) with Skyline. Bradburn also holds the all time point record for the Eagles with 152 points in four seasons (94 games), averaging about 1.6 points per game over all four years.

“Skyline was definitely the best 4 years of hockey I’ve ever played,” Bradburn said. “Playing for your school and playing in front of your classmates is a great time. Bradburn tells his younger teammates to enjoy their time playing high school hockey while they can, because it’s by far the most fun hockey they will play.

Skyline junior Sei Nakamura has always looked up to Bradburn; he watched him beat his own personal records for three years on the Skyline hockey team.

“I’ve been playing with [Bradburn] since I was in fourth grade, and he’s always been a competitor,” Nakamura said. “On and off the ice, [Bradburn] is always trying to improve his shot.” It was Bradburn’s powerful shot and lightning quick release that hit the back of the net and stunned goaltenders 86 times in his high school career.

At the end of his junior year, Bradburn realized that he wanted to play junior hockey instead of going straight to college. It took time to adjust to the different environment and style of play, but he has finished his preseason with one goal and now moves into his first regular season with the Whitewater Kings.