Royals ready for tough tasks ahead
BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMESCOLONIST.COM FEBRUARY 2, 2012 10:34 PM
The Victoria Royals are not underestimating the magnitude of the task that awaits them tonight and Saturday during a Western Hockey League swing through eastern Washington state.
After all, how could they?
The Royals are only 17-30-5 and among the bottom four teams in the Western Conference scrambling for the final-two playoff berths with only six points separating the lowly quartet.
This weekend’s opponents belong to another world.
Tonight’s foe, the Spokane Chiefs, are 28-15-7 and firmly entrenched in a playoff position by 24 points.
On Saturday, it gets even tougher. The Tri-City Americans are 35-12-2, ranked No. 5 in the BMO MasterCard CHL top 10 poll of all major junior teams in North America, and a whopping 37 points clear of a playoff berth.
“It [weekend road swing] is going to be tough, no doubt,” said Victoria GM and head coach Marc Habscheid.
“We’ve got to find a way. We are going there to win, not participate. We played well recently against Kamloops [36-11-4 and ranked No. 2 in the CHL top 10], which is a club right up there with these teams.”
At least Habscheid has the Minnesota Meteor, forward Ben Walker, in his corner. The rookie from Edina in suburban Minneapolis was named by the Royals on Thursday as their player of the month for January with eight points in 11 games.
Walker’s start in February wasn’t bad, either, as he scored twice and assisted on another goal in Wednesday’s 5-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. And on a team with the worst defensive record in the league, where a plus-rating is a rare commodity, Walker leads the club at plus-3. In fact, he’s the only player on the Royals with a plus rating.
Habscheid said Walker is getting more comfortable with the major-junior brand in his 26 games (six goals, 20 points) since leaving Minnesota high school hockey earlier this season to join the Royals.
Although employing his blinding speed to great advantage, Walker has also shown a willingness to stand his ground in front of the net and knock home some greasy goals.
“I’m just trying to get to where the better spots are to score,” said the 18-year-old, who despite his short tenure with the Royals, is likely to have garnered some notice from pro scouts.
Yet, Walker is under no illusions this weekend as he crosses the border back into his home country. He knows the challenge the Chiefs and Americans present.
“We’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game,” he said.
Another Royals forward showing signs of stirring is Steven Hodges, the fleet five-foot-11 centre, who has been strangely quiet much of this season despite being rated No. 55 among North American skaters in Central Scouting’s mid-season rankings for the 2012 NHL draft.
“Every game is a crunch game for us now,” said the Delta native, who has 15 goals and 33 points but a minus-19 rating in 52 games.
“We have to play each game like it’s a playoff game.”
Did somebody mention playoffs?
For the Royals, they may have already effectively begun.