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View Full Version : Baptism by fire for Royals' young blue-liners



CdnSailor
12-03-2011, 12:16 AM
By Cleve Dheensaw, timescolonist.com 01 December 11

The future may belong to a cadre of young Victoria Royals defencemen.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t also a sense of urgency in the now as the team tries to halt a decline in which it has garnered only three points, out of a possible 20, in the last 10 games.

“It’s a fast game in the WHL and if you don’t make quick decisions, you can be stripped of the puck and it’s in the net,” said 17-year-old Brett Cote, one of three rookie blue-liners on the Royals, as they prepare for tonight’s game at 7 against the Rockets (11-12-3) in Kelowna.

Fellow Royals, 17-year-old Kade Pilton and 16-year-old Keegan Kanzig, have tended to stand out more this season as first-year WHL defencemen. For one thing, Parksville-product Pilton and high-end prospect Kanzig are both six-foot-five and hard to miss on the ice, while Cote is six-foot by comparison. Yet in his own quiet way, Cote is making an imprint on the Royals blue-line as an emerging steady presence.

“We’re learning together,” said Cote, of the youthful defensive trio.

“And we really like each other and are good friends.”

That’s a benefit, because these guys will provide the foundation for the Victoria defence into the next two or three seasons.

But this is a tough business and just being young only buys a limited amount of leeway.

“You just can’t say you’re 17 and will be better next year. You have to push to be better,” said Royals GM and head coach Marc Habscheid.

“You have to learn every day and work hard every day and have the proper attitude.”

The Royals boss is happy to see that in his precocious rookie trio of defenders.

“They are good kids and I feel they have the skill sets. Yet, you have to be patient because this is different for them and it’s a long year and a long grind for them, including with school.”

In the WHL, however, you still have to produce, no matter what your age.

It’s hardly a secret the Royals (11-15-2) have, by far, allowed the most goals against in the league with 141 given up in 28 games.

“We know that we have to tighten it up and play better,” said the soft-spoken Cote, a native of Oakbank, Man.

“If we stick to our game plan and work hard, we can beat anybody.”

The Royals are in Kamloops to face the Blazers (18-7-1) on Saturday to try to snap Kamloops’ current 4-0 stranglehold on their season series.

The Royals return to Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre for a two-game set Tuesday and Wednesday against the Western Conference-leading Tri-City Americans (19-7). The Americans are the No. 3 team in the Canadian Hockey League. Only the London Knights of the OHL and St. John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL are ahead of the Americans in this week’s BMO Mastercard CHL Top-10 poll.