https://theleafsnation.com/2014/06/27/what-are-the-odds-draft-prospect-michael-bunting/ said:
Q: You didn?t play Triple-AAA until last year because it?s too expensive. If you don?t mind me asking, what?s the price difference between Double-AA and Triple-AAA these days.
A: It?s definitely a couple thousand, for sure. Triple-AAA was at least $5,000 and I think Double-AA was $2,500 or $3,000 so there was a huge difference in what I was paying.
Q: When you were playing Double-AA was there ever a point where you thought ?I should be in Triple-AAA. I smoke these guys!? or ?I know I can earn it.??
A: Well in my Minor Midget year and Midget year I definitely had the thought that I should hop up and play Triple-AAA because I had a few Triple-AAA teams wanting me to play. The thing was I had a really close core of friends who were on my Double-AA team and I really enjoyed the coaches I was with. I knew ?If I stay here I don?t have to pay as much money, I?ll have good coaches, I?ll have good friends, and I?ll still have fun playing hockey.
Q: Fun is kind of important I guess.
A: Yeah. That?s what helped me out, for sure. I played hockey for fun. I did it as an extra activity and I enjoyed doing it. I think that if I was playing maybe a higher level that whole time and, you know, trying to make it a business I?d definitely have a different mindset going into every single game that I have now. Like I now think of hockey as ? yes it can be my lifestyle but I also love playing the game. I just really love playing the game.
Q: In other words, while you have a passion for the sport, you do have a life outside of it, and you understand that.
A: I think that definitely helped me because a lot of kids growing up, all they had, I guess their parents put it into their head ?You need to do this for hockey, you need to do that, that, that.? Then a lot of kids, when they get older, get sick of the game, right? Because it?s all they?ve been doing is hockey, hockey, hockey. So I feel that with the path that I had ? I played hockey, I loved it, and I also had a life out of it when I was younger. It kept my priorities straight and I still love the game, and maybe some other kids that were just focused on hockey kind of fell off of it.
Q: You?ve been through a huge jump in the past year. What was your first OHL season like this year?
A: It was unbelievable. This was the year of my life, really. I enjoyed it so much. With the whole Soo Greyhounds staff and organization ? they helped me out. They knew definitely where I came from my development might be a little bit different from others. Sheldon Keefe, the head coach, definitely took his time to make sure that everything was right on track. Director of Player Development Wes Clark always made sure that I was on track and I knew what was going on. They just really helped my game improve substantially, for sure. They brought me to a new level so this year was definitely, definitely the greatest hockey year I?ve ever had.
