Next Bootland Also Finds Home on Ice, Set to Help Kalamazoo Eagles Soar
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
November 16, 2021
PARCHMENT — After being pelted by pucks when he was very young, Breckyn Bootland knew for sure he never wanted to become a hockey goalie.
Instead, the Parchment junior focused on puck handling and is making his mark as a forward for the Kalamazoo Eagles cooperative team in the Southwest Michigan High School Hockey League.
If the name Bootland sounds familiar, it is because his dad, Nick Bootland, has been head coach of the ECHL Kalamazoo Wings for the last 13 years.
One could say hockey is in Bootland’s genes. Besides his father, his uncle Darryl Bootland also played professional hockey.
The “puck pelting” happened during youth hockey, where the players had a chance to experience all positions.
His dad also unleashed a few shots at his son, who was wearing goalie pads, in the backyard to give him a taste of the position he was hoping he would not like.
The young Bootland said goalie was never an option. Besides not liking people to shoot pucks at him, “I always liked scoring.”
That practice has paid off.
He was named team Rookie of the Year last year, recording six goals and three assists in 12 regular-season games during the COVID-shortened season.
After playing youth and then travel hockey, Bootland opted for high school hockey – but the transition was not as easy as he expected.
In travel, “I was just playing against guys my age, so when I stepped on the ice and saw guys that were way bigger than me, it was definitely a shock,” he said.
‘I knew guys would be bigger, but just to be out there with those guys was different. Knowing some of the guys out there helps out from a maturity standpoint because you have guys keeping you in line.”
He also had his dad available to do the same.
With the K-Wings organization opting to sit out the 2020-21 ECHL season because of COVID protocol, Eagles head coach Matt Kruzich asked Nick Bootland if he would be comfortable stepping in as his assistant coach
“He’s a professional hockey coach who has a full-time job,” Kruzich said. “He was invaluable with the amount of knowledge and experience he brings and the professional approach he has plus the depth of knowledge and the ability to convey that to young kids.
“When he speaks, they listen.”
After making sure his son was okay with the arrangement, Bootland agreed, giving father and son a chance to bond as they never had before.
Because of the K-Wings’ schedule, Bootland said he saw maybe one or two tournaments his son played throughout his travel hockey years.
“I literally watched more hockey and was around him and was on the ice with him (last year), than ever before,” Nick Bootland said.
“We practiced for three or four weeks before (the Eagles) were allowed to play any games, and then we practiced and played games. We’d travel in the car together. To do all those things was fantastic.”
Before that, “It always was me and my mom (Christine) going on trips to tournaments, and we’d always carpool with other people, which helped me get closer to my teammates,” Breckyn Bootland said.
This year, with the K-Wings back on the ice, the junior will start the season without his dad in the rink.
The Eagles’ first game is Nov. 24, and the K-Wings play a home game that day.
There are upsides and downsides to playing a sport his dad coaches, the junior said.
“I guess he knows what he’s talking about,” he said, laughing. “When I have a bad game, he doesn’t yell at me about it; he tells me ways to get better.
“It’s always been helpful to me to have his knowledge to bounce off of.”
The downside?
“He’s always right so I can’t really ignore him, even though sometimes I want to, like after a bad game I’ll just say, ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’
“But I know he has the answer.”
Breckyn Bootland went to his first hockey game when he was just months old when his dad played for the K-Wings.
By the time he was 3, he was skating on the ice.
As he got older, some of the K-Wings would take him under their wings after practices.
“I remember going to games and going into the locker room, only after a win though,” he quickly added.
“I remember some of the guys would play knee hockey with me. On snow days, I was able to come into the rink early and just work and play around before practice. After practice, some of the guys would pass with me, so it was always fun.”
Nick Bootland said the family never pushed their son toward hockey, but he seemed to take to it from the start.
His bedroom had a hockey theme and his carpet was an ice rink.
Looking at his son from a dad’s perspective, “I have a pretty smart, high-hockey IQ son,” Nick said.
“One time he had a coach where he didn’t think what he was saying was right. He asked me how to handle that.”
His son was 8 or 9 at the time.
“I said you respect it and do it the way your coach said to do it. That was the best advice, I think, that I could give him.”
As a coach, Bootland is impressed by his son’s puck handling.
“He’s got super slick hands,” he said. “He can do things with the puck that I can’t and could never do.
“Within that 10 feet of the net, his skill set, his passing and his dangle, his ESPN moments, all those things that make hockey crazy and unique, he’s got a real knack for that.”
Bootland said he tries to give his son two positives and one negative after a game: “I don’t want to be the dad to take the fun away.”
After losing several seniors to graduation, Kruzich said the junior will be one of the seasoned players he will count on this season.
“He has a relentless drive and works his butt off in every situation,” Kruzich said. “He’s a true competitor, just like his dad.
“He has that high energy and good spirit. He’s got really good feet and really good hands and competes at a very high level every shift.”
Breckyn Bootland is one of 20 players on the Eagles, and one of three juniors. The team has eight seniors, along with four sophomores and five freshmen. Richland Gull Lake supplies seven athletes to the team, with five from Vicksburg, four from Plainwell, Bootland from Parchment and one more apiece from Comstock, Kalamazoo Christian and Paw Paw.
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Breckyn Bootland enters his junior season as a key contributor for the Kalamazoo Eagles cooperative team. (Middle) From top: Breckyn Bootland, father Nick Bootland and Eagles coach Matt Kruzich. (Below) Bootland, a student at Parchment, gathers the puck. (Action photos courtesy of the Bootland family; head shots by Pam Shebest.)
High 5s: 3/20/12
March 20, 2012
Every Tuesday, Second Half honors 2-4 athletes and a team for its accomplishments.
Have a suggestion for a future High 5? Please offer it by e-mail to [email protected]. Candidates often will have accomplished great things on the field of play -- but also will be recognized for less obvious contributions to their teams, schools or the mission of high school athletics.
Madison Ristovski
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett senior
Basketball
Ristovski led her team to within a win of the Class C championship. She had 15 points and seven assists in a Semifinal win over Concord on Thursday, then scored 42 points -- second-most in MHSAA girls championship game history -- although the Knights fell 61-57 to Morley-Stanwood in Saturday's Final. Earlier in the week, she was named this season's Miss Basketball as the state's top senior player. She was joined on the Knights this season by junior sister Haleigh and freshman sister Lola.
Up next: Ristovski received a scholarship offer from the Unversity of Michigan after her freshman year, and accepted it as a junior. She's hopes to study education, get her teaching certificate and go into school administration.
Before the game, a winning routine: "Every single game day I wear the same outfit to school. I always eat the same pre-game meal -- a cheeseburger and medium fries from McDonald's. I sit in the same spot on the same bus for every game. ... I have to play with curly hair. I can't play with straight hair. I'm very superstitious."
Favorite offensive move: "With my right hand, cross over to the middle and jumpshot."
I learned the most about basketball from: "My dad, Loren Ristovski. My dad first started coaching when I was about nine months old (he coached at Harper Woods for 10 years). That's when he first started taking me into the gym. I could sit up at nine months, and I would roll the ball back and forth with my dad in the gym. I just went to everthing, and I grew up in the gym with my dad."
My favorite player is: "Pistol" Pete Maravich.
Sister power: "I'm really competitive with them in practice. We always go against each other, and we always make sure to push each other the hardest we can. In the games, I'm really supportive of them, but also I tell them when they are doing something wrong. Haleigh is a really good defender, but she can shoot the lights out. Lola can dribble really well and (is strong) in transition. I'm better at going to the basket and finding open players."
Had to be a Wolverine: "When I was in fifth grade, U-M was the very first basketball camp I went to outside of the local rec place and the high school. It was a huge place, and I loved it. My dad and I walked out of Crisler Arena, and my dad looked around and said to me, 'This is where you'll play basketball.' And I was like, 'Are you crazy? Those girls are so big.' My dad said, 'Madison, I promise you'll play at U-M.' Ever since, that's where I wanted to go."
Shar'Rae Davis
Grand Haven senior
Basketball
Davis, a point guard, scored 19 points -- including the winning lay-up with six seconds to play -- as Grand Haven completed an 18-point comeback to beat Grosse Pointe South 54-53 in Saturday's Class A Final at the Breslin Center. The 18-point comeback was the third-biggest in MHSAA girls basketball championship game history. The Buccaneers also beat reigning champion Inkster in their Semifinal. The MHSAA title was Grand Haven's first. The team lost only once this season, early to East Kentwood.
"I'm so happy we lost that game. It definitely gave us a shift back into our mindset that we need to work hard every game to get where we are now -- state champs."
Up next: Davis is remaining quiet at this point about who is recruiting her, but expects to play basketball at the college level.
Staying relaxed before the game: "We definitely listen to music. You would think all us girls would get our heads into it, be super serious. But our team can't be serious. We're an outgoing team. Before (Friday's) game, we were dancing in the locker room. And we definitely have a team prayer thanking God for everything he does for us."
I learned the most about basketball from: "I would have to say my family, every single one. I can't even put it specifically. My dad (Terry Foster), my little brother (Terrence II), my mom (Cavina Foster). They've all just contributed in every way. I love them all."
My favorite player is: "Either Kobe (Bryant) or LeBron (James). Game-wise, they are just pretty amazing. How they're able to stay calm and collected in games, hit shots under pressure, all that type of thing. I try to resemble their games. They're pretty awesome players."
Alexis Huntey
Morley-Stanwood senior
Basketball
Huntey, a 6-foot-1 center, had 27 points and 16 rebounds as Morley-Stanwood won its first MHSAA girls basketball championship by edging Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 61-57 in Saturday's Class C Final. She also played a sizable role in Morley-Stanwood winning its second volleyball championship in the fall. She was named all-state this winter by The Associated Press and was a Miss Volleyball finalist in the fall. At that time she reported a 3.98 grade-point average.
Up next: Huntey has signed to play volleyball this fall at George Washington University. She's continuing a Division I college legacy in her family -- her father and Morley-Stanwood athletic director Clark Huntey played baseball at Central Michigan.
Basketball vs. volleyball championship: "There's definitely a comparable feeling to it. But it's so different. In basketball there are more nerves. Bigger gyms. It's (Michigan) State. I was really excited."
I learned the most about basketball from: "I would have to say Coach (Bob) Raven. I've looked up to him since I was this tall, and I was a water girl. I've always been so excited just to play for him."
Pre-game prep: "We stretch and then we pray as a team. Bailey (Cairnduff) leads it."
My favorite move is: "I fake up to the left, and the go back to the left."
James Counsman
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett junior
Hockey
Counsman, a left win, had a goal and an assist in University Liggett's Division 3 Semifinal win over Chelsea on March 9, then scored his team's first two goals in its 3-0 win over Houghton in the next day's championship game. The MHSAA title was University Liggett's first in hockey since 1990. Counsman also plays lacrosse.
"I've never won anything of this caliber. It's great. I love it. We've done so much. ... Every guy has worked as hard as he can to make this happen. I'm glad we achieved our goal."
Up next: Counsman is just a junior, but hopes to play college hockey, perhaps at the Division III level, and would like to take a shot at playing juniors as well. At this point, he's considering a major in business.
I've learned the most about hockey from: "(Liggett coach) Robb McIntyre. He's coached me all throughout my growing up. He's been an awesome coach. I've learned everything from him."
I look up to: "Definitely my dad (Rich Counsman). He played college sports (football and baseball at Kalamazoo College), and he's just a great guy. I love him."
Before every game: "I gotta get in my jump ropes. I like to get in a nice long run, not too much stretching, and I gotta have a grape jelly peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. That's what we do. I like Smuckers, Jiff peanut butter. There's a process to making these sandwiches. Every guy makes them before games. Individually wrapped, cut diagonally, grape jelly."
Goodrich Girls Basketball
The Martians finished 28-0 in winning the Class B championship, their first MHSAA title. Goodrich beat a number of ranked teams in Class A, B and C this season, including No. 3 Detroit Country Day, No. 6 Dearborn Divine Child and No. 10 Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the final three rounds, respectively, of the Class B tournament. Divine Child was the reigning Class B champion. Among others to fall to the Martians this season were Class A Semifinalist Inkster and Class C runner-up University Liggett.