SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — The first overall pick in the recent Maritime Junior Hockey League Entry Draft is no stranger to Prince Edward Island.
The Berwick, N.S.-based Valley Wildcats selected 18-year-old Halifax native and forward Ethan Landry, who is the son of Blair and Deanna (Worth) Landry, a 1984 graduate of Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside.
Ethan’s grandparents are Norma and the late Harvey Worth, who were both active in the sport of curling. Harvey was a longtime member and volunteer at the Silver Fox in Summerside, and Norma represented P.E.I. at the 1981 Canadian women’s curling championship as a member of the Beverly Millar-skipped rink.
“My dad passed away (in January 2012), and he would have been extremely proud of Ethan to know that he has been drafted first and is continuing his plan for school and hockey,” said Deanna.
“My mom watched all his games online this year and last year. She has always been a big supporter of his and would always be in the stands cheering him on when he played spring hockey on P.E.I.”
The left-handed-shooting Ethan, who is enrolled at Acadia University, played the last two years at St. Andrews College in Aurora, Ont., where he had 28 points, including seven goals, in 54 games during the 2019-20 campaign. He said it was “very humbling and exciting” to be the top pick.
Ethan, who has been invited to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Halifax Mooseheads’ training camp, has fond memories of summer visits to his grandparents at Noonan’s Shore in Borden-Carleton.
“My grandfather had a garden (that) I and my sisters (Jessica and Olivia) would help him work on,” said Ethan. “It was awesome, and I would be able to drive the tractor lawnmower and rip that around.
“It was great to be able to see my grandparents and being right on Noonan’s Shore, the beach and (Confederation) Bridge is right there.”
