Joel Castle Biography

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Name:  Joel Castle

Position:  Goaltender

Number: 74

Height:  5’ 10”

Weight:  185 lbs

Birthdate:  05/17/2003

Hometown:  Victoria, BC

Nationality:  Canada 

 

 

When one thinks of snow and ice, the moderate clime of beautiful Vancouver Island off the west coast of British Columbia doesn’t immediately come to mind if at all. But was does come to mind is an active lifestyle and that is one thing that Ian and Ruth Castle of Langford, BC, instilled in their children, daughter Autumn and son Joel, from a young age. Whether it was biking, hiking, swimming, tennis, soccer, or golf, the Castle family always seemed to be outside. Joel especially liked to be near the water whether it was swimming in a crystal clear lake, skipping rocks along a river or boating on the Pacific Ocean.

 

But during the winter, young Joel would watch hockey on TV with his dad, an avid Vancouver Canucks fan, and occasionally go to a Victoria Grizzlies game (the local BCHL junior team). Joel instantly loved the sport and begged to play. And so Ian enrolled his enthusiastic son in the Juan de Fuca Minor Hockey League. Due to his small stature and lack of skating ability, Joel was eventually asked by his coaches to try being a goalie. Joel didn’t care – he was thrilled to just play. With his all-around athleticism and a growing underlying competitive streak, Joel quickly developed an adeptness at the position and made it his personal mission to stop every shot that came toward him. Unfortunately, his drive and determination did not lead to a lot of team success early on although his team did win one tournament in his U-11 season and his performance led to him being named tournament MVP.

 

Between the excitement of the Canucks’ West Coast Express, live junior games, and later the introduction of the WHL’s Victoria Royals, he developed a deep passion for the game and consumed a steady diet of hockey. He honed in on smaller goalies like himself to watch their style and learn how they made themselves appear big in the net. He especially connected with Royals’ netminders Coleman Vollrath and Griffen Outhouse and even had a chance to meet them a few times. In the NHL, he tried to emulate shorter goaltenders such as Jaroslav Halak and Juuse Saros and would eventually wear Saros’ number 74.

 

Joel’s passion for the game bled into his family as well. His sister, Autumn, also caught the hockey bug and decided to try playing goalie shortly after she saw how much fun her brother was having. In their early years, they even split the goaltending duties on the same team a few times. Wanting to be better able to help train his crease-patrolling children, Ian Castle took up recreational hockey and he would spend free days shooting balls and pucks on his goalie duo – outside if it was nice and in the basement in times of rain. Ruth Castle was a constant in the stands, cheering for Joel and Autumn as often as possible.

 

Young Joel Castle playing with the Victoria Cougars

 

When Joel was then drafted by the Prince Alberta Raiders in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft, this strong family bond was stronger than his love for hockey and made it too hard for him to move to a different province so he decided look for further opportunities closer to home and eventually stayed at home, signing with the Victoria Cougars of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. He played sparingly with the Cougars between 2018-2020, but did win a league championship with them and they lost in the Cyclone Taylor Cup final for the British Columbia Provincial Junior B Hockey Championship. Despite not getting any playing time in these championship runs, he soaked in the experience and saw the determination and sacrifice it took to win.

 

Then the COVID pandemic went into full blown lockdown and leagues of all sports were either severely restricted or canceling much of their seasons. Not seeing much of an opportunity with his hometown BCHL Victoria Grizzlies, he inquired around for other Island teams looking for goaltending help and found a potential fit with the Cowichan Valley Capitals in Duncan, only an hour north of his home. But it unfortunately didn’t go well. Both he and the Capitals struggled over the next couple of seasons but between the league shortening their season and him fighting COVID the next season, he only played in 18 games total and managed a 4-11 record. He was not invited back for a third season.

 

Feeling like he had yet to play his best hockey and not wanting to regret not trying one more time even after so many unfortunate seasons, he started looking around at lesser-known options, even outside of North America. His family supported his decision to attempt one more season and so he worked harder than ever in a renewed effort to continue his hockey career.

 

Joel was contacted by a representative of the Animal Sport Agency who said their Canadian scouts had noticed him and felt, as he did, that he had much to offer a team. The rep said that he knew of a team in Las Vegas that could use a goaltender like him for a backup role with potential for a future contract. After meeting with the Las Vegas Aces management, Joel and his family were excited for this new opportunity to join the defending champions of the VHLM. He signed as a free agent and won all five of his starts and then helped the Aces win their second Founder’s Cup in as many seasons. The Aces would then officially draft him in the off-season and he became their starter for S85. After a great regular season that saw him win 41 games – more wins than he had collected in the last few years combined – Castle and the Aces lost in the Founder’s Cup final. He was then drafted by the VHL’s Toronto Legion 13^th overall in the S86 Draft and that's when the real story began…  

 

Credit: @Moon

 

Teams:

S84-S85 Las Vegas Aces (VHLM)

S86 Geneva Rush (VHLE - defunct)

S87-S94 Toronto Legion (VHL)

 

Accolades:

S84 Founder’s Cup (Las Vegas)

S85 JST Champions (Dehli Pickles)

S86 WJC Silver Medal (Canada)

S90 WC Gold Medal (Canada)

S91 Continental Cup (Toronto), S91 Diasuke Kanou Trophy, S91 All-VHL Second Team

S92 WC Bronze Medal (Canada)

S94 Victory Cup (Toronto)

 

 

Edited July 19 by animal74