Photo credit: Contributed

By Regan Bartel

The Gojsic boys are finally teammates

Hiroki and Kanjyu Gojsic: Brother’s in Arms

Oct 28, 2024 | 7:00 AM

Hiroki and Kanjyu Gojsic owe much of their success in reaching the Western Hockey League to their father’s financial support and their mother’s invaluable guidance.

While Michael Gojsic managed the significant expenses necessary for his two oldest sons to compete at the highest hockey level, their mother, Hiroko, played a crucial role in instilling a strong work ethic that helped them excel among their peers.

“Their mother was heavily focused on development,” Michael shared with RocketFAN from his home in Langley. “In Japanese culture, you’re expected to excel in a sport and an instrument. Although she loved figure skating and wasn’t particularly a hockey fan, she encouraged their skating and had them on ice by age three, effectively acting as a coach for the boys.”

Hiroki and Kanjyu are children of a Japanese mother who immigrated to Canada in the early 2000s and a father with Croatian roots, reflecting a rich tapestry of cultural backgrounds that likely influences their family’s traditions and identities.

“Her father’s name was Hiroki,” Michael added about the two unique surnames given to the boys. “Two Chinese characters are put together and it means ‘big strength’. 

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“Kanjyu means ‘great rooted tree’, or my wife just wanted to change it rather than have Hiroki one or Hiroki two,” he said with a chuckle. 

With the two boys interesting in playing the game, and wanting to participate against the best competition, it provided a financial challenge.  

“We didn’t do any trips to Disneyland or Disney World,” Michael added. “Our holiday money was spent on going to tournaments and spring hockey. It was the route that we took early, and development was always a key thing. We would always give them honest feedback. I think they need a person in their life who gives them the brutal truth. I did a lot of video, so I would film the boy’s playing hockey and then my wife would critique them.” 

Separated by 628 days, the similarities between the two siblings are many, and the differences are few. 

“There is always that competition,” he added. “If you can steer the first one [son] right, you hope the second one follows suit. Each iteration improves, or that is the hope. We had a very busy household. We didn’t have idle moments. We never had a video game console.” 

Growing up, the Gojsic boys weren’t only focused on the game of hockey. Both took violin lessons, which provide an area of discipline off the ice.   

“Both of them played until they were 14 or 15,” Michael said. “There is a strict regimen of practice, rehearsal, and public performance. You are going to play in front of a group of people. I think that gives them an edge in a sense that they are used to having to rise up for the occasion.”  

Hiroki was originally drafted by the Victoria Royals in the second-round in 2021 before his rights were traded to the Kelowna Rockets, while Kanjyu was chosen in the third-round of the WHL Prospects Draft by the Rockets in 2023. 

“To have them playing together on one team hasn’t happened all through their minor hockey and their academy programs,” Michael added. “They have always been two years apart, so even though they aren’t on the same line, playing on the same team means one stop when we come up and watch the games.” 

Listen as Regan Bartel chats with Michael Gojsic about a method he used to dry his sons hockey equipment:

Before joining the Rockets last season, Hiroki spent one season in the BCHL with the Penticton Vees before making the jump to the WHL. 

“At 16, it was a tough decision,” Michael admitted about sending his oldest child to the Okanagan. “The fact that my parents were living there made it easier, and he became a real man after attending private school at St. George’s Academy, so he matured during that time. The original aspiration was for him to go play college hockey, but the boys have their own thoughts and own desires and he wanted to really go to the WHL. When we compare the BCHL with the WHL, it is just a better junior development league, and my son has aspirations to be a professional hockey player. That’s what he wants to do. He doesn’t want to go to school.” 

After an excellent rookie season with the Rockets, Hiroki was chosen this summer in the third-round (94th overall) of the NHL draft by the Nashville Predators. 

“Originally, I was just going to send Hiroki and Kanjyu down to Vegas,” Michael said honestly. “Then two weeks later, I said what am I thinking? We are at the ‘Sphere’, a great venue, and it might be the last draft they have that type of format, so we went down as a family and it didn’t disappoint. It was a spectacle to be down there. It was a surreal experience to be in the crowd.”  

Reflecting back, Michael admits his townhome has taken a beating from his boys over the years. More than a few hockey pucks have been fired at his garage door, leaving permanent marks. 

“When they were playing mini-sticks, they would get carried away,” he said. “Someone would get chopped on the fingers or shins. I have been painting the house after having the boys come through over the last 10 years, and there are a lot of scuffs and marks that have been patched up finally and painted over. The baseboards have taken a beating.” 

RocketFAN ended the conversation by asking Michael what satisfies him the most with both boys playing junior hockey in Kelowna.  

“They are pursuing their dream,” he said with a certain contentment in his voice. “I am so happy they are able to do that, and I can be a part of it. 

“Each generation is built on the sacrifices of the previous ones, so it makes me proud that they are out there competing and doing what they want to do.”