Butterworth, 19, was traded to the Wildcats in January 2014 from the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior League. It was the latest stop on what has been quite an odyssey for him, both in terms of hockey and life.
“Home has been a lot of places,” says Butterworth. His parents currently live in Arlington, Virginia, where his father works at the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C.
Although his hockey biography claims he was born in Halifax, Butterworth says he was born in Alliston, Ont., into a military family.
“We moved around a lot due to my dad’s work,” he explained.
Hockey in three countries
Butterworth’s hockey career began in Oromocto, N.B. while his father was stationed at CFB Gagetown. The family then moved to Canberra, Australia, where his father was working on a masters’ degree.
While in Australia, Butterworth was atom age, “but I played peewee hockey. Hockey wasn’t as developed in Australia at that time. It’s better now.”
After a year-and-a-half in Australia, the family returned to Nova Scotia and lived in Sydney, where Butterworth played peewee hockey with the Sydney Steelers program. The family then moved to Florida, where he played peewee and bantam for the Florida Everglades.
Then it was back to Halifax, where he played major midget for the Halifax Titans (now McDonalds) in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. In his first season with the Titans, the team won the NSMMHL championship and competed for the TELUS Cup.
In his second and final season with Halifax, Butterworth scored 20 regular season goals, adding six more goals in the playoffs.
Butterworth’s first year of junior with the South Shore Lumberjacks in Bridgewater, where he had 19 goals and 45 points in 49 games. It caught the attention of the Fargo (North Dakota) Force of the United States Hockey League, who picked him in the 2013 draft.
Butterworth began the 2013-2014 season with Fargo, but only played four games and didn’t collect a point. He found hockey in the U.S. much different than it is in Canada.
“There’s more emphasis on skill and less physical play,” he said.
Prior to Christmas 2013, he moved back north of the border to play for the Brooks Bandits.
“(Brooks) won the national championship the year before I went there. I learned a lot playing there,” he said.
“I played there from about November to the (MHL) trade deadline, when I was traded to the Wildcats.”
Hockey in the Valley
“I asked to be traded here, because this was where I wanted to play. I knew some guys who had played here the year before and said it was a good spot,” Butterworth explains.
He had also heard good things about Acadia and wanted to go to school there.
The second-year forward for the Valley junior A Wildcats is also a first-year student at Acadia, studying toward a business degree.
The balance between school and hockey “is a challenge at times,” he said. Butterworth is taking a full load of five courses, and several of his teammates are fellow Acadia students.
Butterworth has his own apartment in Wolfville, which he admits is “different than being billeted. I have to do everything for myself. I’m finding it a bit different.”
He has one more year of junior eligibility remaining, and says, “I’m planning to play it here.”
After that, he is interested in playing university hockey, and while “Acadia is an option, it’s not my only option.”
He plans to finish his degree, but “wants to play hockey as long as I can. My goal is definitely to play professionally somewhere. It doesn’t really matter where. I’ve been pretty much everywhere in my life already. I’m used to moving around.”
Every time he has moved, it’s been an adjustment, and he’s become an expert at finding and making new friends.
“It’s gotten easier as I’ve gotten older because most of my moves were because of hockey, and I found it easier making friends. I like meeting new people. It’s a bonus,” he said.
As for the Wildcats, the focus now is on the playoffs, which got underway March 13.
“We have a really close-knit group this year, both on and off the ice,” Butterworth says.
The team’s recent 11-game winning streak, he adds, “was something else. I’ve never been part of anything like that since maybe midget – certainly not in junior.”
The team, he adds, is “really good” this year.
“It’s been a positive experience. I have no regrets.”
Butterworth, 19, was traded to the Wildcats in January 2014 from the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior League. It was the latest stop on what has been quite an odyssey for him, both in terms of hockey and life.
“Home has been a lot of places,” says Butterworth. His parents currently live in Arlington, Virginia, where his father works at the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C.
Although his hockey biography claims he was born in Halifax, Butterworth says he was born in Alliston, Ont., into a military family.
“We moved around a lot due to my dad’s work,” he explained.
Hockey in three countries
Butterworth’s hockey career began in Oromocto, N.B. while his father was stationed at CFB Gagetown. The family then moved to Canberra, Australia, where his father was working on a masters’ degree.
While in Australia, Butterworth was atom age, “but I played peewee hockey. Hockey wasn’t as developed in Australia at that time. It’s better now.”
After a year-and-a-half in Australia, the family returned to Nova Scotia and lived in Sydney, where Butterworth played peewee hockey with the Sydney Steelers program. The family then moved to Florida, where he played peewee and bantam for the Florida Everglades.
Then it was back to Halifax, where he played major midget for the Halifax Titans (now McDonalds) in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. In his first season with the Titans, the team won the NSMMHL championship and competed for the TELUS Cup.
In his second and final season with Halifax, Butterworth scored 20 regular season goals, adding six more goals in the playoffs.
Butterworth’s first year of junior with the South Shore Lumberjacks in Bridgewater, where he had 19 goals and 45 points in 49 games. It caught the attention of the Fargo (North Dakota) Force of the United States Hockey League, who picked him in the 2013 draft.
Butterworth began the 2013-2014 season with Fargo, but only played four games and didn’t collect a point. He found hockey in the U.S. much different than it is in Canada.
“There’s more emphasis on skill and less physical play,” he said.
Prior to Christmas 2013, he moved back north of the border to play for the Brooks Bandits.
“(Brooks) won the national championship the year before I went there. I learned a lot playing there,” he said.
“I played there from about November to the (MHL) trade deadline, when I was traded to the Wildcats.”
Hockey in the Valley
“I asked to be traded here, because this was where I wanted to play. I knew some guys who had played here the year before and said it was a good spot,” Butterworth explains.
He had also heard good things about Acadia and wanted to go to school there.
The second-year forward for the Valley junior A Wildcats is also a first-year student at Acadia, studying toward a business degree.
The balance between school and hockey “is a challenge at times,” he said. Butterworth is taking a full load of five courses, and several of his teammates are fellow Acadia students.
Butterworth has his own apartment in Wolfville, which he admits is “different than being billeted. I have to do everything for myself. I’m finding it a bit different.”
He has one more year of junior eligibility remaining, and says, “I’m planning to play it here.”
After that, he is interested in playing university hockey, and while “Acadia is an option, it’s not my only option.”
He plans to finish his degree, but “wants to play hockey as long as I can. My goal is definitely to play professionally somewhere. It doesn’t really matter where. I’ve been pretty much everywhere in my life already. I’m used to moving around.”
Every time he has moved, it’s been an adjustment, and he’s become an expert at finding and making new friends.
“It’s gotten easier as I’ve gotten older because most of my moves were because of hockey, and I found it easier making friends. I like meeting new people. It’s a bonus,” he said.
As for the Wildcats, the focus now is on the playoffs, which got underway March 13.
“We have a really close-knit group this year, both on and off the ice,” Butterworth says.
The team’s recent 11-game winning streak, he adds, “was something else. I’ve never been part of anything like that since maybe midget – certainly not in junior.”
The team, he adds, is “really good” this year.
“It’s been a positive experience. I have no regrets.”
