BLOOMFIELD HILLS (WXYZ) — The hockey trophy case at Cranbrook is a bit of a flex but it’s well deserved.
The winning tradition there runs deep and when a kid from California decides to move back to Michigan to play that says something about the tradition.
“Michigan is kind of the hockey hub so it was a great opportunity and a place where I thought I could flourish,” Cranbrook senior defenseman Leyton Stenman said.
Leyton Stenman grew up in Ann Arbor, his family moved to California as a youth, but as his prospects at the next level started to become real, coming back to play here, on his own, was a move most high school aged kids may have not been ready for.
“He came in not sure what to expect and you could just see his confidence grow and get better and to flourish to where now he’s getting attention from a lot of areas,” Cranbrook head coach John LaFontaine said.
Stenman is planning on beginning his professional career with the Aberdeen Wings of the North America Hockey league next year, but after losing in the state tournament just days before the shutdown last year, he’s got unfinished business with the rest of his teammates as they charge for yet another trophy for this case.
“We all really want this I know for kids on the team last year, sitting in the locker room after losing and you see all your friends, all the seniors, you’re not going to play with them again and so it motivated all of us, we don’t want that to happen to us, we want to go all the way,” Stenman added.
