Ryan Hamberg’s hockey career will be continuing.
The Grande Prairie Storm graduate has received a scholarship to play in the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) with the Wilfred Laurier University Golden Hawks.
Hamberg, a native of Mississauga, Ont., played defence for the Storm for two seasons – 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 – after playing two seasons of Junior A hockey with the Villanova Knights of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
“His progress and development over his time with our team was amazing,” said Storm coach/general manager Blaine Bablitz. “He developed into a top end shut-down defenceman for our team.”
Hamberg, who turns 21 in December, is the seventh former Storm to commit to a CIS school over the last five years and 25th former Storm to receive a scholarship at either a Canadian or American post-secondary institution in that time period.
He stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 205 pounds and contributed to the team both on and off the ice. He was involved in many of the team’s community events during his time with the Storm.
“Ryan was a tremendous teammate and citizen within the City of Grande Prairie,” said Bablitz. “His maturity and leadership will be greatly missed on our team next season. I would like to thank Ryan for his time in Grande Prairie and wish him all the best as he takes the next step in his hockey career.”
Hamberg played 91 regular season games with the Storm during his two seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and had a goal, two assists and 189 penalty minutes.
Wilfried Laurier is located in Waterloo, Ont. The Golden Hawks play in the West Division of the Ontario University Athletics conference.