It was an up and down year for Niagara-on-the-Lake hockey prospect Spencer Tomczuk, but you might say all’s well that ends well.

After battling a mystery illness that sapped his energy and endurance early in the season, he eventually was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which can be debilitating when you’re playing elite competitive hockey.

It slowed him down a bit but didn’t deter the captain of the Niagara North Stars U16 AAA team.

When you’re playing at that level in your U16 year, junior scouts attend many of your games and every tournament you play in. A lot is at stake for players who have lofty aspirations.

Tomczuk fought through it all and was drafted to the Ontario Hockey League by the Kingston Frontenacs in June.

“I had hoped I’d get drafted but I didn’t really know where I was going to go,” the Virgil resident said in an interview.

Although Tomczuk, who turned 16 in April, had heard from several teams before the draft, Kingston wasn’t among them. So it was a pleasant surprise when the respected franchise chose him in the 14th round, 276th overall.

He attended the Frontenacs’ development camp earlier this summer and called it “a great experience.”

On every step up the ladder in hockey the pace and skill level increases, but Tomczuk relishes the challenge.

At the Kingston developmental camp, “I thought it was good to see like what I need to work on and just be ready for the main camp next.”

That happens at the end of August.

While it would have been nice to have been drafted higher, he says it really doesn’t matter — Kingston picked him and now he’s committed to getting bigger, stronger and faster to someday have a shot at playing in the OHL and maybe a pro career.

While some top players are renowned for being solely focused on offence, Tomczuk believes taking responsibility for your own zone is just as important.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve liked to play both sides of the puck. I feel like having that 200-foot game is key in the game now because you get used to every situation and I think it just helps you out in the in the long run.”

He’s been spending his summer working out on and off the ice several times a week — and playing a bit of golf.

He placed second in the junior boys division at the NOTL club championship tourney last weekend with rounds of 88 and 84. Not bad for someone who’s only been golfing for a few years.

At six feet tall and 178 pounds he’s already a solid, right-hand shooting centreman with plenty more growth to come.

His Niagara North team had a stellar season, qualifying for the OHL Cup tourney in Toronto. That event showcased the top 25 minor hockey and prep school teams from Ontario and the northern U.S.

The Stars went 2-1-1, narrowly missing a quarterfinal berth while playing their best hockey of the season.

The next step in Tomczuk’s journey, which started more than a decade ago with the NOTL Wolves at the Virgil arena, will have him suiting up with the St. Catharines Falcons Jr. B team to start the season this fall.

The Falcons signed him in June, shortly after the major junior draft, and their training camp begins next week.

His former coach with Niagara North says Kingston and St. Catharines got themselves “a complete player” and talented playmaker in Tomczuk.

“Spencer just has a lot of passion for the game. He’s what most people consider a complete 200-foot player,” said Jason Glenney.

For the two seasons that Glenney coached him, Tomczuk was the Stars’ captain, an honour that is decided in a vote by the players, coaches and trainers.

“He is a lead-by-example type player. He worked hard in practice, did all the little things right.”

Even when he was sick, “he still showed up every game and practised and gave everything he had. By the end of the season he was nearly back to 100 per cent,” Glenney said.

“A lot of kids, if they’re not at their best, they don’t want to be out there. Spencer wanted to continue and as a result he didn’t really miss any time” despite his health problems.

“I’m sure Spencer didn’t have the season that he wanted. But I’m still a believer that it doesn’t matter where you get selected,” Glenney said.

“He has the opportunity now to prove himself. As a player, you just want that opportunity.”

Tomczuk credits Glenney and his coaches over the years for helping him develop and excel — and his parents Jodi and Mike for their support of both him and his older brother Gavin, who also is a talented AAA defenceman.

The family is, of course, proud of Spencer and happy for his success.

“He’s worked so hard to get himself to this point,” Jodi Tomczuk told The Lake Report. Especially with his illness this year, “he just persevered and was resilient.”

“It’s nice that everything fell into place as far as him being drafted and now being able to play with the Falcons, which is super exciting for him.”

He learned to skate in Virgil and played his first hockey for the NOTL Wolves.

“This is what he wanted. Since the age of four when he first stepped on the ice you could see his love for the game.”

He played his entire minor hockey career at the AAA level, moving from NOTL to Niagara North eight years ago.

With skill development and a multitude of other factors at play, it’s uncommon for a player to be able to stay at the AAA level for so long. But Tomczuk established himself with the Stars.

“It was hard to leave the Wolves because there’s such a family there,” his mom noted.

Now, with the Falcons’ season on the horizon, a new adventure is about to begin.

One thing she won’t miss is having to buy Spencer new hockey sticks when one breaks. Sticks nowadays can cost hundred of dollars, but at the junior level it’s one of the things the team supplies.

“Now, my heart won’t break when he breaks one,” said Jodi Tomczuk, who’s an ER nurse at the St. Catharines hospital. She won’t have to pick up another shift to pay for one.

“That’ll definitely be nice.”