The Dunedin Thunder rookie has landed a deal to play for the St George Ravens in the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League in Canada.
It is a big step for the 16-year-old King’s High School pupil, set to leave on September 2 for six months on the other side of the world.
There he will stay with a host family and play the league — which is one of several high level Canadian development competitions.It was a huge opportunity for the defender, who was excited to go.
He was fresh from his first season with the Thunder and it was his defence partner — import Brandon Egli — who had been influential in getting him the deal.
"He’s just been looking after me, putting my name out there; he’s just been an all round nice guy," Hurring said.
"We started talking to him and he started talking to some teams overseas, trying to see where he can get me.
"We were trying to sort out a team in Sweden. That didn’t really work out and St George just came up."
St George is located in Ontario, less than two hours’ drive from Toronto.
The area was big on ice hockey — as most were in Canada — which excited Hurring.
He was expecting a high level of play and said it was likely to be faster, although slightly less physical, than the New Zealand league.
His experience with the Thunder would prove valuable; he is coming off a successful season in which the team made the playoffs, before losing to the West Auckland Admirals last week.
Hurring had originally not even been in the team, but was put on the ice in a pre-season game when it was short on players.
He scored a goal and from there continued to go from strength to strength.
The league had been a step up, but he enjoyed playing with players at the higher level and also the extra thought you had to put into the game.
Alongside that, he has also represented New Zealand and most recently went to Bulgaria with the under-20 side.
Prior to that he had played for every team he had the opportunity to take the ice for, following brother Jacob — who also plays for the Thunder — into the sport when he was 7.
However, there is a bit to do off the ice before he leaves.
Notably he is trying to get all his school work finished for the year so he can pass his NCEA Level 2.
He was also doing some courses to give him a head start in Level 3 for next year, as he will miss the start of next year.
