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Guelph Storm duo teammates on the ice and best friends off it

Tommy Budnick and Max Namestnikov landed on the same minor hockey team in Michigan eight years ago and have been friends since
Tony Saxon
Tony Saxon

When the Guelph Storm acquired Tommy Budnick from the Kingston Frontenacs Dec. 12, the happiest guy in the Guelph dressing room was Max Namestnikov.

Not only was the team going to be improved with the arrival of the veteran defenceman, but he was also going to bet to play with his longtime friend.

"We're, like, best friends," says Namestnikov, who Budnick affectionately calls 'Jibbs'. "We were about 10 years old when we met and we played all the way up through minor hockey.

"I've been trying to get him to come here for a while now, probably a year or so. It finally happened and I couldn't be more grateful that he's playing here."

Born eight days apart (they both turn 20 next month), the friendship started years ago when the two joined up on the Detroit HoneyBaked system.

"Me and him go back to around 10 years old. I've known him most of my life and he's my best friend," Budnick said. "Teammates ... spring tournaments ... summer vacation. We even lived together for a while and we've built our relationship like that."

The bond has only grown as they've gotten older.

"Having the same interests and having the same goals and where we want to go with our careers really helped us gel together," Namestnikov said.

Namestnikov's description of his friend? "Lot's of humour. He's loud. And he likes to eat a lot."

Namestnikov comes from hockey royalty, growing up in a Detroit suburb with a brother playing in the NHL and a dad plus two uncles that also made the big leagues. He followed in the footsteps of his brother Vladislav, who played two seasons with the London Knights, in coming to the OHL.

Budnick grew up in Petoskey, a town of 5,500 in the northern reaches of Michigan where any hockey was usually played on the frozen lake.

Outgrowing the local hockey offerings, in Grade 6 Budnick travelled four hours south, spending most of the week with the HoneyBaked program, following in the footsteps of his sisters Julia and Jacqueline who made a similar commitment in order to pursue their competitive figure skating dreams.

"Growing up it was always playing on a lake, three-on-three tournaments and things like that," Budnick said. "The competition wasn't that good. My sisters were figure skating in Detroit and I kind of got dropped in a tryout (with the HoneyBaked program) and I fell in love with the game even more and that just kind of brought me to my journey here."

Both were drafted into the OHL in 2020, Namestnikov going in the first round, third overall, to the Sarnia Sting and Budnick in the third round to the Kingston Frontenacs.

Namestnikov landed in Guelph in the Sasha Pastujov trade a little over a year ago. Guelph gave up draft picks for Budnick.

Both are thrilled to be on the same team once again.

"Especially in an organization like this where it's just positive vibes. Coaches are awesome. The guys are awesome. It's all awesome and I just told him to come here," Namestnikov adds.