CANTLON’S CORNER: WESLEY COMES HOME…SORT OF
Wesley Getting a fist bump from Head Coach Keith McCambridge
BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – Under “Place of Birth” on Josh Wesley’s birth certificate, it reads Hartford, CT, but he was way too young to remember those early years.
Wesley is now the newest member of the Hartford Wolf Pack after being acquired as part of a trade/reassignment with the Charlotte Checkers for goaltender Dustin Tokarski, two weeks ago.
The right-handed shooting rearguard is the son of a former Hartford Whaler, Glen Wesley. He is now getting a chance to explore his early years and his family is excited for him to have that chance.
“They were ecstatic about it, because we still have family and a lot friends here. It gives a good excuse for my Mom to come up and see me,” said Wesley with a laugh. “My Dad was thrilled too. The first time I came here was with the (Charlotte) Checkers. I got chills looking up (at some of the Whalers banners) knowing he had played here. Now that I’m here, it means that much more.”
The rest of his family presently resides in Cary, North Carolina.
Being just a year old at the time, Wesley does not have many memories of that fateful day in April 1997 when the Whalers played their last game or his father playing in then his third season in the city after signing as a free agent from the team’s fierce rival, the Boston Bruins. It doesn’t register the same emotion for him, but it was tough for his family.
“It’s always hard to leave a place, and they were involved in the community. It was tough to leave the friends that they had. My Mom said what a great family community this was, so they spoke very highly about it,” Wesley remarked. His family resided in Avon at the time.
While his memories aren’t there his parents, Barbara and Glen, have had plenty of stories for him.
“They told me in the kitchen I was whacking sticks around,” Wesley said with a smile. “Its gonna be cool when I have a day off and my Mom and Dad come up and take me around and tell me about all the places and people that they met here. It’s pretty cool to come back to the place where you were born. This was home, so I’m thrilled about it.”
After shuttling up and down for three years in the Hurricanes organization between Charlotte and the Florida Everblades (ECHL) he was glad to be in a new spot and the chance to jumpstart his pro career.
“It’s great to be playing. I walked in here on Day 1 and guys have been great to me. It’s a great feeling coming into a new place,” Wesley said.
In seven games with the Pack, Wesley has two assists and a minus-one.
He is the second current Wolf Pack who comes from a famous NHL father, Ty Ronning’s father is Cliff Ronning who had a long NHL career primarily with the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues.
