Owen Wareham was drafted 35th overall by the Dauphin Kings in the 2017 MJHL Draft.
Two years after he was drafted, Wareham was on his way to Regina with the Manitoba men’s baseball team as he represented the province at Baseball Canada’s Canada Cup. Wareham had a .250 batting average in that event as Manitoba won four of their seven games.
Come that winter, Wareham was back playing with the Yellowhead Chiefs in the Manitoba AAA U18 Hockey League. He scored 11 times in that campaign in the regular season and added 20 assists. He then had four points in four playoff games and he also made his MJHL debut with the Dauphin Kings that season. All while this was happening, Wareham knew he had to make a decision. Pursue his baseball dreams or take things to the next level on the ice.
Ultimately, the now 20-year-old decided to lace up his skates with the Dauphin Kings. After playing six games in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, Wareham returned last year and was paired with Parker Malchuk as one of the team’s top defensive units. Coming to play every night, Wareham produced 22 regular season points and another eight in the playoffs as Dauphin went on to win the Turnbull Cup in seven games over Steinbach. Wareham then continued to show how good he is at the Centennial Cup as Dauphin advanced to the semifinal.
Now Wareham is back with the Kings this year in his final year as a junior player and he’s serving as the team’s captain. He also has 13 points in 22 games.
“I’m happy to be back, I’ve loved my time in Dauphin and we all know what the goal is this year,” said Wareham. “It’s also an honour to be the team’s captain. We have a lot of great guys on the team, I try to pass on the knowledge I’ve learned over the past couple of years from Grady Hobbs and Parker Malchuk, who were both great captains.”
As Dauphin prepares for two games this weekend against the Winnipeg Freeze, Wareham propelled the team to victory in their last game. On home ice against the Winkler Flyers, Wareham fired a shot from the point that was blocked. But the team kept the puck in the zone and Wareham got another chance and this time, he fired the puck to the back of the net as Dauphin earned two points with a hard-fought 3-2 overtime victory. It was Wareham’s second goal of the season.
“That was definitely one of the biggest ones that I have scored in a while,” said Wareham. “We needed that win after our loss the prior night and I’m just happy that I was able to help get the job done.”
Owen joined 11 of his teammates earlier this week in Portage as he was named to the MJHL Top Prospects Showcase. He played on Team 20U Black alongside Aidan Brook and Blake Boudreau. The team went 2-0 and while Wareham didn’t hit the scoresheet, he played a tremendous defensive game. The King says it was a good experience playing alongside players that he is usually competing against.
“It was a lot of fun. A great opportunity to get to know some guys and play with and against the best players in the league,” said Wareham.
Get to know Wareham:
What are some of your hobbies, besides hockey? I still play baseball in the summer and a lot of golf. I also enjoy playing cards with my friends back home
What are your future plans when it comes to playing hockey or going to school? I’m just keeping everything open right now, taking everything in as it comes
What’s your favourite pre-game meal? Chicken and rice
What’s one of your favourite childhood memories? I was at a Toronto Blue Jays game and Josh Donaldson hit back-to-back-to-back home runs
What’s your favourite moment as a King? Those final few seconds in Steinbach and jumping on the ice to celebrate
You can hear Owen’s full chat with Darnell Duff on the team’s power play show on 730CKDM. It airs Friday afternoon at 4:10.