JUNIOR-A HOCKEY After long road, Sims finds a home with Phantoms

The Boardman senior attended four different high schools in four years.
BOARDMAN -- Tyler Sims had a strong season for the Youngstown Phantoms Junior-A hockey club, but he was even better in the classroom.
The 18-year-old goaltender is one of eight students who will graduate from Boardman High School this year with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Recently, those eight individuals received "Best in Class" honors, which is similar to class valedictorian.
Sims appeared in 40 of Youngstown's 56 regular season games in 2003-04, compiling a 20-14-5 record and a 2.63 goals-against average. He tied for second among North American Hockey League goaltenders with four shutouts and was third with a .925 save percentage.
"Tyler was one of our more celebrated athletes this season," Phantoms coach and general manager Bob Mainhardt said. "He had a very good year on the ice, and now he is setting an example for his teammates and young kids in the community with what he's done in the classroom.
"It's remarkable that he was able to do as well as he did on the ice, but still understand the importance of doing well in school and achieving just as much off the ice. That really puts an exclamation point and what we're trying to accomplish here."
Moving around
What makes Sims' accomplishment even more impressive is the fact he attended four different high schools in four years because of hockey.
Before Boardman High School, there was Danforth Collegiate High School in Toronto (freshman year), Wilson High School in Reading, Pa. (sophomore year) and Walled Lake High School just outside of Detroit (junior year).
He moved the first two years because his father -- Al Sims -- coaches professionally, and then the past two years in search of an opportunity to play.
"I had a breakthrough year this year, and that makes me feel great," said Sims, who made the Phantoms' roster out of a tryout camp last summer. "I was given an opportunity in Youngstown and I made the most of it. I tried to give the team a chance to win every night I was out there, and I had a lot of fun doing it.
"It was an all-around successful year for me. Obviously what I did in the classroom was important too. I take that very seriously, and it's something I'm very proud of. Hockey may not always be there, but what you learn in school will be there your whole life."
Finding a home
Last year, no Junior-A team wanted Sims until he came to Youngstown.
He was cut by four different clubs -- the Waterloo Blackhawks of the USHL and the Springfield Junior Blues, Lone Star Cavalry and Springfield Spirit of the NAHL -- before he finally found a home with the Phantoms.
So what was it that made him keep going to the next town?
"Trust me, it really did get discouraging for me and for my parents who were driving me around and battling through it with me," Sims said. "Hockey is the sport I love to play, and I wanted to play it at the highest level I could. I ended up in a great place here in Youngstown.
"Coach Mainhardt believed in me and gave me an opportunity. Obviously, this was a huge step up from Junior-B, but I knew I could play at this level. I was out there with something to prove this year. I wanted to show the teams that didn't take me that they made a mistake, and I definitely improved as a goalie as the year went on."