For 14-year-old Markus Knaub, hockey is more than just a sport. It's more than a passion. Hockey is his lifestyle, his day-to-day driver and encapsulates his future plans.

Discovered almost by accident, the 5-foot-9, 152-pound centreman is currently playing for Brad Purdie's U15 Prep team out of the RINK Winnipeg, earning his spot thanks to a few people in the right place at the right time.

Discovered at a WHL Combine

"So, Markus was actually at one of the WHL combines here at the rink," Coach Purdie chuckled. "Ian Duvall, who coached with me last year, was looking at him and thought, 'you know what, this kid looks like he can play.' So he spoke to Markus' mom and that got the ball rolling. We had him come out and skate with us last spring and one thing led to another. It ended up working out and he joined our program this season."

It's funny how these things tend to work out. Knaub, who is now up to nine goals and 18 points in 33 games for the RINK in his first year of Prep-style hockey, didn't just show up on the map either; he has put in the work and to top it off, he comes from a family of athletes.

A Family of Athletes

"My two brothers Victor and Michael, they are both playing in Germany on the Hannover Scorpions," the youngest Knaub said. "They've actually been in Germany for about seven years now. They used to play in the MJHL and the SJHL, but then a coach from overseas messaged them because he liked how they played and asked them to come out for a skate. That's basically how their careers started off in Germany. They've loved it there and it's their other home."

For Knaub, the intrigue of playing hockey professionally is what keeps the wheels turning on the daily.

"My parents are actually from Russia but moved to Germany before having my brothers. I was born a bit later, in Canada, but do also hold a dual German/Canadian passport. So, that's beneficial for Germany if they want my brothers or I on their teams, we aren't considered immigrated players or imports, but rather local. I'd love to someday play for Germany professionally — or even sooner maybe they'd send me an invite to the World Juniors!"

The Road Ahead

Before the thought of a professional career in hockey, Knaub knows these next few seasons with the RINK will help determine his overall succession path.

"My goal is to get drafted to the WHL, put in the work, hopefully see some success in my game and just grow as a player to show WHL teams and any other team what I'm made of and what I can do. The WHL would be a near goal for me, but the NCAA option is also there too, even more so now. I'd be happy to go anywhere, really. Wherever gives me a chance."

From Morden to Portage la Prairie

Born in Morden, Knaub lived in Manitoba's Bible Belt until he was roughly three years old. His family then relocated to Oakville, before planting their current roots in Portage la Prairie. Driving to and from Portage from Oakville every day for work and hockey was getting to be a bit much, so the decision to relocate once again was made. It was in Portage where Knaub met Koy Funk — who currently plays for his hometown MJHL Terriers — but spent two seasons developing his game at the RINK. He shed some light on the facility and program, opening Knaub's eyes to the possibilities following his WHL combine skate.

"I love the RINK, I love everybody there, from the staff to the players, everyone's nice to me, and friendly. They always help me out. I just love it there," Knaub shared. "I am a big fan of the development aspect and all the players that have come out of there. Koy Funk, who is also from Portage used to play RINK and he really liked it. He told me it was a really good experience and he really grew as a player from there. And I think I am too. You spend your day there, getting your schooling your on-ice training, off-ice training and gym, I love the RINK."

The RINK Loves Him Back

And as a matter of fact, the RINK loves him back.

"He's been doing really good for us," Coach Purdie said. "At the start of the year he was more focused on the points side of it, which most of them are, but his 200-foot game has really improved over the last six to eight weeks. His conditioning has really improved, which helps him chase down and hunt pucks on the backcheck and be more effective in the defensive zone to be more in guys' faces and take away time and space. As you know, the less time we spend in our end, the more time we can spend going the other way."

"As for what's next for Markus, it really comes down to what he wants," Purdie expanded. "Not everybody can play professional hockey. So, hopefully, with his brothers, they're kind of giving him the inside scoops on what he has to continue doing if he wants to follow that path. Right in his headlights is the WHL and that's probably his goal as far as getting drafted. Hopefully it works out for him, but there's still a lot of runway before he really needs to make a decision on where he's going to be playing in the next couple of years."