nivek_wahs
03-07-2008, 12:27 PM
At home in the Kootenays (http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/sports/At_home_in_the_Kootenays.html)
WHL INSIDER: At home in the Kootenays
By Greg Meachem - Red Deer Advocate - March 07, 2008
The disappointment in being traded by his hometown’s Western Hockey League team has long since faded away for Matt Fraser, who has developed into a contributing member of the Kootenay Ice.
“’Fraz’ has just been getting better every day,” Ice head coach Mark Holick insisted, following Wednesday’s 4-1 win over the host Red Deer Rebels.
“It took him awhile to settle in, but he comes to the rink every day and works real hard and competes hard in practice. He’s becoming a real good player for us and in the years to come I think he’s going to be a real big cog in our wheel.”
The former Rebel, who along with a fifth-round pick in this year’s WHL bantam draft was dealt to Kootenay in October in exchange for overage forward Clayton Bauer, showed some of his emerging offensive prowess by setting up a goal by linemate Steele Boomer in Wednesday’s triumph at the Centrium.
“He’s got some skills and he has good size,” said Holick, in reference to the six-foot-two, 190-pound winger. “He’s a strong kid and he’s starting to get really good along the boards and in between the dots at the net front. He’s competing for ice and doing a good job in those areas. That was a weakness of his when he came to us, but he’s worked hard after practice with the coaching staff and he’s shown a real improvement.”
Fraser, who helped the Red Deer Optimist Rebels dominate the Alberta Midget Hockey League en route to a berth in the Telus Cup final last season, credited the Ice coaching staff for showing confidence in him and his linemates for their aid in his development.
“I get to play a lot so it’s easy to stay focused on the game,” said the Red Deer native, who will celebrate his 18th birthday in May. “My linemates (Boomer and Kevin King) also help me a lot. We’ve played with each other before, it’s not like this is a first-time thing.”
Indeed, Fraser, Boomer and King won bronze medals with Team Alberta at last year’s Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, Yukon.
“We find each other on the ice,” said Fraser. “We put pucks on sticks and sometimes they go in the net.”
Fraser, who was pointless in five games with the Rebels before being dealt to Kootenay, has sniped nine goals and contributed 11 assists in 58 games with the Ice. He takes a regular shift game in and game out and has been used on the power play.
“It’s nice to get a little power-play time in there. It doesn’t happen a lot because we have six great forwards,” said Fraser. “When we do get out there (on the power play) we just kind of grind it out in the corners and get the puck on net. We’re not a real fancy line.”
Fraser was understandably distressed when the news of the trade came down last fall, but he realizes now that it was a good move for himself.
“No player likes to get traded, especially when you’re still in high school in your hometown,” said Fraser, a ninth-round pick of the Rebels in the 2005 bantam draft. “But Kootenay greeted me with open arms and I absolutely love it there. Everything is good. My billets are awesome, our team is awesome.
“Personally I was down a little bit (at the time of the trade), but once I got there it was just like being on the same team.”
The fact that he’s a member of a club with serious championship aspirations has also helped Fraser adapt to life in Cranbrook, B.C., roughly 550 kilometres from his hometown.
“Playing with a good group of guys makes the game so much more enjoyable,” he said. “Kootenay has a history of winning. In 10 years there, the franchise has never had a losing season. It’s nice to be part of that and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Contact Greg Meachem at gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com
WHL INSIDER: At home in the Kootenays
By Greg Meachem - Red Deer Advocate - March 07, 2008
The disappointment in being traded by his hometown’s Western Hockey League team has long since faded away for Matt Fraser, who has developed into a contributing member of the Kootenay Ice.
“’Fraz’ has just been getting better every day,” Ice head coach Mark Holick insisted, following Wednesday’s 4-1 win over the host Red Deer Rebels.
“It took him awhile to settle in, but he comes to the rink every day and works real hard and competes hard in practice. He’s becoming a real good player for us and in the years to come I think he’s going to be a real big cog in our wheel.”
The former Rebel, who along with a fifth-round pick in this year’s WHL bantam draft was dealt to Kootenay in October in exchange for overage forward Clayton Bauer, showed some of his emerging offensive prowess by setting up a goal by linemate Steele Boomer in Wednesday’s triumph at the Centrium.
“He’s got some skills and he has good size,” said Holick, in reference to the six-foot-two, 190-pound winger. “He’s a strong kid and he’s starting to get really good along the boards and in between the dots at the net front. He’s competing for ice and doing a good job in those areas. That was a weakness of his when he came to us, but he’s worked hard after practice with the coaching staff and he’s shown a real improvement.”
Fraser, who helped the Red Deer Optimist Rebels dominate the Alberta Midget Hockey League en route to a berth in the Telus Cup final last season, credited the Ice coaching staff for showing confidence in him and his linemates for their aid in his development.
“I get to play a lot so it’s easy to stay focused on the game,” said the Red Deer native, who will celebrate his 18th birthday in May. “My linemates (Boomer and Kevin King) also help me a lot. We’ve played with each other before, it’s not like this is a first-time thing.”
Indeed, Fraser, Boomer and King won bronze medals with Team Alberta at last year’s Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, Yukon.
“We find each other on the ice,” said Fraser. “We put pucks on sticks and sometimes they go in the net.”
Fraser, who was pointless in five games with the Rebels before being dealt to Kootenay, has sniped nine goals and contributed 11 assists in 58 games with the Ice. He takes a regular shift game in and game out and has been used on the power play.
“It’s nice to get a little power-play time in there. It doesn’t happen a lot because we have six great forwards,” said Fraser. “When we do get out there (on the power play) we just kind of grind it out in the corners and get the puck on net. We’re not a real fancy line.”
Fraser was understandably distressed when the news of the trade came down last fall, but he realizes now that it was a good move for himself.
“No player likes to get traded, especially when you’re still in high school in your hometown,” said Fraser, a ninth-round pick of the Rebels in the 2005 bantam draft. “But Kootenay greeted me with open arms and I absolutely love it there. Everything is good. My billets are awesome, our team is awesome.
“Personally I was down a little bit (at the time of the trade), but once I got there it was just like being on the same team.”
The fact that he’s a member of a club with serious championship aspirations has also helped Fraser adapt to life in Cranbrook, B.C., roughly 550 kilometres from his hometown.
“Playing with a good group of guys makes the game so much more enjoyable,” he said. “Kootenay has a history of winning. In 10 years there, the franchise has never had a losing season. It’s nice to be part of that and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Contact Greg Meachem at gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com