BRANTFORD, ON- Last Sunday, the Brantford 99ers hosted a U9 minor hockey team during their afternoon tilt against the Leamington Flyers. The kids got to sit on the bench during warmups, and participate in a scrimmage at intermission. As soon as 99ers captain Jonah Cochrane heard about this, he decided that fist bumps and saying hi to the kids during warmup wasn’t enough.
Before warmups, Cochrane grabbed one of his sticks from his collection and got the entire 99ers team to sign it. Then at the end of warmups, he brought it out and gifted it to a lucky young kid on the team, and his face lit up. The minor teams coach could not believe this incredible act of generosity, and he made sure to express how grateful he was to Jonah and the 99ers Organization for having them.
I caught up with Jonah a few days after the event to get some of his thoughts on his kind gesture:
What made you think of this idea?
“It’s small things like that go a long way. We were all kids once, going to games wanting to meet the players, so it’s just something special I could do. It’s a part of the game that people might not see, but maybe one day they will be in our position and be able to do this as well for the next generation.“
You pride yourself on being the leader of this team, do you have any role models that have helped you be the captain that you are?
“Going back to my first year in the league when I was with Wellington, I learned a lot from Emmett Pierce in a short time. Shortly after, I was traded to Haliburton and met Nathan Porter who was a fantastic captain as was the whole Huskies leadership group. A lot of what they did for the team I’ve taken in and am trying to recreate here.“
