Former Silvertips, Royals netminder Holt strikes chord with newfound musical passion

Big Sky, Mont.- Braden Holt still carries the memories of his first WHL experience with him.

Drafted 262nd overall by the Everett Silvertips in the 12th round of the 2018 WHL Prospects Draft, he was surprised to learn he’d have an opportunity to play in the league as a 16-year-old on a trip to Washington to see what the team was all about.

He was struck by the dull roar of the fans and their chorus of cowbells at a sold-out Angel of the Winds Arena, the thumps of bodies crashing into the boards, the clatters of sticks as the players fought for the puck and the foghorn blast of the goal horn.

“I just absolutely fell in love with it,” Holt recalled. “That was the first time that I’ve ever experienced that and to know that I could have played at that level at 16, it was kind of a no-brainer for me to make the jump to the Western league. I’ve just met some amazing people and some lifelong friends there.

We had the chance to travel around all of Western Canada and the United States to play the game that we love in front of thousands of fans every night. Every game is just so special.”

Five years later, those early memories began to bubble up again as Holt, now a member of the Victoria Royals after three-and-a-half seasons in Everett, began to contemplate his graduation from the league.

He decided to channel his feelings into a new pursuit he’d recently picked up- singing and songwriting.

Holt had first delved into music in the summer of 2023 in hopes of getting good enough to jam around a fire during family camping trips.

But as he plucked away at his guitar between games and practices, he wrote his first song- ‘Best Five Years‘- about his time in the league and found a whole new passion.

Encouraged by his friends- and one of their little sisters, who demanded better audio quality than an iPhone voice memo- Holt cobbled together some audio equipment, damped the sound in his room with blankets, and turned out his first recording on Apple Music and Spotify with the help of a friend, Cameron Farmer.

“I was really surprised about how many people listened to it, especially in like, the first day,” Holt added. “I’m just trying to write a song that meant something to me, and for it to mean something to so many other people too. It’s a pretty crazy thing.”

At the same time, he was backstopping the Royals on a hard push to the WHL Playoffs- including a nine-game point streak from late December to January.

The 21-year-old set career highs in minutes played (2589) and saves (1298) while cracking 20 wins for the second time in his career, earning Victoria’s Unsung Hero Award.

But that didn’t make the end of the WHL journey any easier.

Holt admits he was a bit of a wreck when Victoria was eliminated by the eventual Western Conference Champion Portland Winterhawks in the postseason, but says he’s now able to appreciate the journey, bonds created, and memories of facing down stars like Connor Bedard, Tij Iginla and Berkly Catton.

He also found that Best Five Years had also struck a chord with others in the hockey world, with former teammates, other 20-year-olds, family and fans reaching out.

Now, he plans to continue chasing both passions at the University of Manitoba.

Holt has been taking voice lessons in addition to his guitar and hockey practice and plans on minoring in musical production while pursuing his business degree and playing for the Manitoba Bisons (which feature a strong class of recently graduated WHLers, including Dawson Pasternak, Cade Zaplitny, Grady Lane and Dexter Whittle).

Above all, he hopes to encourage other athletes to take some risks and dive into other hobbies outside of hockey.

“It’s hard to put yourself out there and be your authentic self and get over the fear of judgment, I guess, of your peers and what people might think,” Holt said. “I want to kind of inspire people. If you’re going to start something new, don’t be afraid to share it with people because it’s pretty amazing what can happen. I hadn’t been playing guitar very long, but I put that song out and I had hundreds of people reach out to me and say that it meant something to them too, which is an absolutely crazy thing.”