AS Scottish football prepares to rip up the blue print of its youth set up and overhaul their vision for the future, Braehead Clan’s bright hope rests on the shoulders of one young man.
That man is 16-year-old Jordan Buesa.
Signed on a playing apprenticeship in the summer, the teenager from Troon is the first of his kind at Scotland’s biggest ice hockey club. Linked to Clan via a two-way deal with NIHL side Solway Sharks, Buesa splits his time training with Braehead’s pros during the week and gaining valuable ice time with Solway.
While it has offered up real game experience, the arrangement has not hindered the progression of the school kid in Clan colours. Already the Wellington School pupil has racked up 14 appearances in the Elite Ice Hockey League for the Glasgow club. Significantly, Buesa’s coming of age took another giant leap forward on Saturday night in the 2-1 victory over Manchester Storm in front of 3000 home fans, when he notched up his first ever point for Clan earned through a neat assist for the opening goal.
Head coach Ryan Finnerty has been impressed by the progress of his young protégé, who he revealed has been practicing with his senior pros since the age of just 14.
“It’s been a really good balance of having Jordan at Solway and coming in with us during the week. It’s been a really good partnership in developing him on a lot of fronts,” said the Canadian of his young forward, who spent time in Toronto learning at the skates of former Maple Leaf Darcy Tucker.
“He’s learning a lot away from the puck when he’s with us and obviously keeping the skill set up when he’s on the puck more there.
“In terms of his development, it’s important to remember he’s 16-years-old. He’s not 20.
“Anyone in this league that is 20 is considered extremely young and Jordan isn’t even close to that.
“He has a huge upset and we have a lot of responsibility for him. He’s a player that I found believe it or not three years ago.
“We had him skating a couple of years ago then he went to Canada. We had to wait until he was 16 before he could play, so it’s not something we have stumbled across. We’ve had him in our scope for a while.
“We’ve had a long relationship with him and it’s good. We need to get these young kids developed. Coaches and teams have a responsibility to invest in these guys and our owner has done that. It’s paying dividends.”
Buesa can’t learn to drive until the end of March but that hasn’t stopped him driving up his reputation.
As already mentioned, he notched up 31 appearances during a prolonged spell in Canada over the 2015/16 season, and Finnerty knows the sights of his young talent will be set on overseas horizons.
“We originally put Jordan on a one-year with the partnership with Solway,” he said. “We looked around at what was the best and flirted with a few EPL clubs, but at 16 he’s still in school. He’s not a professional athlete and nor should he be right now.
“Solway was the best and the amount of ice time he is getting works. My main focus for him was practice. Players don’t develop in games at that age. They have to sit with the pros and look at what the Matt Keiths [Braehead captain] do on a day to day basis.
“He’s been patient. In games we’ve wanted to get him out there but couldn’t. He’s been a great kid and is always working, he’s everything you want to see in a kid who will have far bigger aspirations than the Elite League.”
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