Corey Cunningham’s patience has paid off in a big way.
When he joined the Prince George Spruce Kings as a 16-year-old in 2017, the B.C. Hockey League team was already well on its way to building a roster that would pay off two springs later in a remarkable championship run.
Cunningham, a product of the Prince George Minor Hockey Association, was asked to bide his time those first two seasons of junior hockey and play a support role patrolling the left wing on the third or fourth lines.
He followed up a four-point, 40-game rookie season with a sophomore campaign that resulted in eight goals and 14 points in 47 regular season games. In the playoffs that year, when the Kings needed it most, the speedy Cunningham stepped up his production significantly, and he struck for five goals and 10 points in the 16 games as the Spruce Kings rolled to their first-ever Fred Page Cup championship.
They were unable to recapture their success last season and had their struggles on the ice but Cunningham raised his own game to a new level. As was the Kings’ most improved player he led them with 26 goals in 53 games, finishing second on the team with 44 points.
The five-foot-10, 165-pound Cunningham is quick on his feet, knows where to go to find the best scoring positions and has a hard accurate shot that he unleashes in an instant. He’s also a capable puck-mover and relentless forechecker who is strong in his own end and he will be relied upon as a penalty-killer and power-play specialist.
“Corey is in his fourth year now and he’s taken a step in terms of his physicality,” said Kings head coach Alex Evin. “He scored a lot better in his fitness testing and it’s showing on the ice. He’s played over 170 games in this program which is very impressive and he’s looked very good in his first few days here.
Cunningham’s first-ever two-goal game in the BCHL came on April 1, 2018 in a 4-2 win over the Victoria Grizzlies in Game 2 of the Coastal Conference in front of a sold-out Rolling Mix Concrete Arena crowd. He notched the winning goal in that one and felt the love from his hometown fans as the Kings’ championship train picked up momentum, a feeling he aims to recapture with this year’s team.
“Individually, I met some goals that I was making in the season,” said the newly-minted Merrimack College recruit. “The team had a lot of one-goal (losses) and that was our downfall, but I feel like this team this year has the will and desire to win a Fred Page Cup and I think we’re going to do it.
“That was the best feeling in the world and I’d die to have it back. To relieve that moment would be pretty fricking exciting, so hopefully we can do that this year, and if I have to stay another year before I go to school, I want to do the exact same thing before I go.”
Cunningham has been practicing in training camp scrimmages on a line with 20-year-old centre Darwin Lakoduk, an American International College NCAA recruit who came to Prince George in June in a trade from the Penticton Vees and he likes what Lakoduk brings to the team. Cunningham is also impressed with forwards Christian Buono and Honor Torzsok, both former Merritt Centennials acquired over the summer, and the steady defence supplied by pointman Mason Waite, back for his second season with the Spruce Kings.
“We have a lot of strong guys who have been in the league and we’re getting them to the right systems and we’re going to be a strong team,” said Cunningham. “We have a lot of guys who have played at this level.
“I want to prove I can be consistent and be a leader every day, that’s big for me. Some games I’m good, some games I’m bad and just want to focus on being consistent every night. I did everything I could to get ready for camp and I think I’m showing that right now.”
COVID and the fact city arenas didn’t open until August meant Cunningham had to drive to Williams Lake every other weekend to get summer ice time, but he’s been a regular in the gym since the season ended in February and feels stronger than ever.
Cunningham’s outstanding season last year was rewarded Sept. 8 when Merrimack announced his scholarship commitment, which will help pave the way for a four-year college hockey career when he leaves Prince George.
“That was something nice to get that off my chest, Merrimack’s a great program and I was very happy with how they reached out to me and they showed me their facility - the best presentation they could give me without physically being there, due to the COVID stuff,” said Cunningham. “Me and my family were sure this is the right call.”
Cunningham was an honours student in high school and won the Kings’ scholastic award in 2018. He’s looking forward to seeing his former Spruce King teammate Ben Brar, who went to Merrimack last year to play a forward position for the Warriors and study business, the same program Cunningham plans to enroll in. The Merrimack campus is in North Andover, Mass., 40 kilometres north of Boston.
“Ben loves it and he says it’s a great school and a great opportunity and he thinks I’ll definitely have fun. There’s only about 5,000 students and it’s like the college is a family, and that meant a lot to me and my family, because my mom is all about family first. She’s got it written on her arm in a tattoo.”
The son of Scott and Lisa Cunningham, the only Prince George native playing this year for the Spruce Kings, will be heading south with the team to Merritt for their first exhibition game on Saturday.
