Cade Webber’s father, Michael, stopped playing hockey after eighth grade because his high school didn’t have a team.
Since Michael’s passion for the game never reached its saturation point, the former defenseman many years later brought his son to the rink when he was 2 years old, hoping the little guy would enjoy skating. Initially, it seemed like a lost cause.
“I hated it,” Cade remembered. “I cried the whole time.”
Michael briefly shelved the idea, but he never abandoned it. “He brought me back when I was age 4,” Cade said, “and I started to like it.”
However, he wasn’t allowed to hold a stick until he was 7 years old. Said Cade: “I had to have the skating fundamentals down first.”
That patient approach on Michael’s part couldn’t have worked out better.
More than a decade later, an 18-year-old Cade is now in his third season at the Rivers School in Weston, Mass., and sits 62nd among North American skaters on National Hockey League Central Scouting’s midterm rankings for the 2019 NHL draft. The 6-foot-6, 194-pound defenseman’s only concern, though, is what he does on the ice at Rivers, not what might happen in June at the draft.
“I stay off social media and I try not to look at the rankings,” Webber said. “You’re going to see them, but I try not to focus on that. There’s always going to be people watching, but I don’t worry too much about that. I’ll let that handle itself. When I’m on the ice, I just play hockey, keep everything inside the glass and stick to my game.”
The smooth-skating blueliner was born in Worcester, Mass., and grew up watching the Boston Bruins and their captain, defenseman Zdeno Chara. When he was 6 years old, he moved to Meadville, Pa., with his family. It was there where he got his start in organized hockey, playing for the Erie Lions and later the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite organization.
Webber was first placed on defense by Lions coach Scott Faulkner.
“I could skate and he liked my size and knew I was going to be big, so he stuck me on the back end,” Webber reminisced. “I also could produce goals because of my skating ability. It was the best of both worlds.”
Webber, who enjoyed watching Penguins captain Sidney Crosby while he lived in Pennsylvania, suited up as a forward when he played for spring clubs.
“I wanted to try something else,” he said.
But his calling always has been as a blueliner, and nowadays Webber, who returned to Massachusetts ahead of the 2016-17 season to attend Rivers, follows and tries to model his game after Tampa Bay Lightning ace D-man Victor Hedman. One trait that has allowed him to succeed in doing that is his big frame.
“I have a very active stick and my size helps with my long reach, and on gaps it’s tough for opposing players to make a move or get in tight,” explained Webber, who has a left-handed shot. “It also helps physically, with checking and pinning guys in the corners. It’s tough for them to get around me. I’m able to use that to my advantage and limit their plays and time and space.”
Over the course of his trio of campaigns competing at the school, he’s developed in both the physical and mental aspects of the sport.
“I’ve grown taller and put on more weight,” Webber said. “I came in a little on the raw side. I wasn’t really in a structured system before, so coach Shawn McEachern brought me in and my overall game has improved — my hockey sense, skating ability, the defensive side of the game and being more physical. The coaches really emphasize the little things and doing things right. I’m starting to focus on those and making every shift matter. Paying attention to details is what leads to success.”
Living on his own also has helped him mature away from the rink.
“I’ve become more independent,” Webber said. “I’m not as dependent on my parents or other people. I’ve had to do things on my own and make decisions on my own. That’s really set me in a good position for future life. It was good to experience it at a young age and not have it hit me when I’m going away to college. I’ll be way better prepared.”
In addition to playing for Rivers upon his homecoming, Webber has spent time with the Boston Little Bruins and Boston Junior Bruins.
He also received the call to play for the U.S. National Team Development Program’s Under-18 squad in October when it visited Boston University, Harvard and Dartmouth. He again skated with that club in November when it competed in the Under-18 Five Nations Tournament, where the Americans finished in first place.
“That experience was great, very humbling,” said Webber, who had the opportunity to join the program two years ago following its evaluation camp but opted to remain in prep school. “It was awesome to represent my country. It was also an eye-opener. Those guys carry themselves with high class and they are always working on and off the ice. It’s all focus. It opened my eyes for what college will be like.”
Webber also wore the USA crest on his jersey when he skated for the U.S. team at the 2017 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament, which his club won, and the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
“Wearing that jersey was my goal growing up and finally putting it on was an awesome, amazing feeling,” he said. “You go out there and you do everything you can to win for your folks back home. It’s really special.”
Webber hasn’t solidified his game plan for next season, although he’ll likely play junior hockey. What is set in stone is where he’ll be in the autumn of 2020 — Boston University.
“I can’t wait to get there,” Webber asserted. “BU has world-class facilities. The hockey tradition is unreal. The Beanpot is a big tournament. I committed when coach David Quinn (Cranston, R.I.) was there. He was a great guy. (Quinn is now head coach of the New York Rangers.) Since Albie O’Connell (Watertown, Mass.) took over as coach, I’m very excited. He recruited me and I built a great relationship with him. He has a lot of knowledge about the game, handles himself well and has good relationships with the players. Development wise, BU develops players like no other.”
Until then, Webber will continue to do his best to improve his game, which won’t be an issue because of the work ethic that he, older sister Mackenzie (a swimmer at Roger Williams) and younger sister Shae (a youth hockey player) inherited from their dad, who played soccer at Holy Cross, and mom, Tammy, who played volleyball at Clemson.
“My parents didn’t push any of their children to one sport or another,” said Webber, whose parents are in the process of moving back to the Bay State. “It was all based off what we wanted to do. Their main thing is work ethic. You’re going to have to work hard and improve to get to the next level, and they’ve laid that on us. Going through their experiences, they’ve learned that you have to work hard and you’re going to have to push yourself if you’re going to be successful at the next level. My dad, especially, has always been hard on us, expects a lot out of us and pushes us to get better. Obviously, it paid off.”
