Royals wary of letting Tigers loose

BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMESCOLONIST.COM OCTOBER 2, 2012 11:01 PM

Any inspiration Victoria Royals forward Jamie Crooks — last season’s leading scorer and team MVP who has only one assist in four games this season — needed may have been right there in front of him during practice Tuesday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.

Skating with the Royals was locked-out NHL forward Dwight King. In 2009-10, King was a member of the Ontario Reign playing against the Victoria Salmon Kings in the minor-pro ECHL. Just two years later, King hoisted the Stanley Cup last spring as a member of the Los Angeles Kings.

Hockey is a game of cycles and no situation is ever necessarily permanent.

“If you’re going through a tentative stretch as a player, go back to doing the things that give you confidence,” said King, after the workout.

That advice from a WHL graduate might be something to take to heart.

“I can’t get too frustrated,” said Crooks.

“I have to work on the little things. Maybe just get a greasy goal first and that will create some things. But overall, we’re 3-1 and I’m focusing on that.”

Crooks is too much of a natural offensive talent to be held low for long — especially as an over-age 20-year-old now facing opposition defencemen up to three- and sometimes four-years younger.

“It seems like the years have just flown by. I want to make this a great final year [of junior],” he said.

Crooks’ season continues tonight at 7 inside the Memorial Centre against the Medicine Hat Tigers, who are also 3-1.

“They are a quick team that creates pressure off turnovers and we have to limit that,” said Crooks.

Speed has always been a Tigers hallmark — this season epitomized by highly-touted 2013 NHL draft prospect Hunter Shinkaruk.

“Our identity doesn’t change a whole lot year to year,” said Medicine Hat head coach Shaun Clouston.

“We work hard and have good intensity and speed.”

Royals head coach Dave Lowry concurred.

“The Tigers are a very skilled, very quick-paced team with a couple of good players we have to pay close attention to,” he said.

“Shinkaruk had three breakaways in their last game. We need to have an awareness about how we manage the ice. We can’t make it easy for them.”

But with 20-year-old goaltender Tyler Bunz having signed an entry-level NHL contract with the Edmonton Oilers, the speedy Tigers can’t gamble up-ice as much as they did last season when they knew Bunz would be there to bail them out if they got caught.

“Our goaltending has been OK. We essentially have two rookies [Marek Langhamer and Dawson MacAuley] and we’ll evaluate that and let them battle it out,” Clouston said.