2016 young stars classic – Page 3

Vancouver Canucks’ Troy Stecher (51) chases Winnipeg Jets’ Jikky Lodge (45). NICK PROCAYLO / PNG

Jason Botchford

September 19, 2016

PENTICTON — Kyle Connor is fast, unquestionably gifted and coming off a season in which he crushed college hockey.

He is among the one per cent here, one of the most talented players in Penticton.

In a heartbeat, the Winnipeg Jets’ 2015 first-round pick can exploit any defenceman’s slip. He did just that when he turned Troy Stecher inside-out to start Sunday’s Young Stars game.

“I turned the wrong way and I knew it immediately,” Stecher said. “He’s one of those players who is going to capitalize as soon as you make a mistake. But I got my revenge.”

Stecher responded by doing what he has done all weekend. He just kept coming. Later in the first period, he pinched the puck from Connor in Vancouver’s end. A few seconds later, he had a shot on net, and on the rebound the Canucks scored.

Canucks fans are going to love the never-surrender motor that drives Stecher’s game. Undrafted, and on the small side, he’s listed at 5-foot-8 here; the NHL odds are not in his favour. But there are more than a few scouts here who like his chances.

“He is going to make it work, he’ll find a way,” one said. “Just watch.”

When you do, you’ll see a player who is vocal, cocksure and all-in on just about every play.

“He’s one of the players who always wants to be on the ice, wants to practise and loves competing,” Young Stars head coach Travis Green said.

Green actually goes way back with Stecher. When he was coaching the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, the team chose Stecher in the seventh round of the bantam draft. Green was trying to recruit Stecher to come to Portland before he chose the college route instead.

“Obviously, back in the day, I kind of told him to b … off,” Stecher said.

Green said he didn’t remember Stecher using those words exactly.

“It wasn’t that (harsh), but at the end of the day,” Green said.

They can laugh about it, having now developed a really good relationship based on mutual respect. Stecher is a Travis Green kind of player if there ever was one.

The 22-year-old, of course, is hoping he starts this season in Vancouver instead of Utica. With lots of NHL interest, signing the college free agent was no slam dunk for the Canucks, and what seems to have tipped the scales in their favour was the fact that Ben Hutton went from nowhere to top-four defenceman in what seemed like 15 minutes last fall.

“It is important,” Stecher said. “I wanted to go to an organization that wasn’t going to sugar-coat anything. They never guaranteed anything. Other teams (came) big: ‘Oh, you’re going to play the full season next year.’

“Once you sign, they can do whatever they want with you. You have to pick and choose which people are being honest and hard-nosed with you, and that’s something I really respected about Vancouver.

“They told me if I come to camp and earn a spot, then I’ll play.”

Hutton said he could see in their first skate together that Stecher at least has a chance to duplicate what he did a year ago. One of the first things Hutton told the North Dakota product was, “Just don’t take my job.”

Stecher has proven here he can create offensive opportunities all on his own. In Friday’s first game he snagged a puck from another talented forward, Drake Caggiula, and turned it the other way for a 2-on-1. It was a terrific moment for Stecher, who played in this town for three seasons with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees.

“The only thing running through my mind was, ‘This is the first game in Penticton, there is no way I’m going to pass that puck,’” he said.

Stecher grew up in the Vancouver area and was back in the city in May, when he started working out every day with Canucks veterans. The organization, which believes he can be an Andrew Ference or a Mike Weaver type, was really impressed with the gains Stecher was able to make training in the summer. They also think he’s wired like a leader. Green called his locker-room personality “infectious.”

“I like to work hard,” Stecher said. “With hard work comes leadership. Guys want to follow someone who is working hard. A lot of people have doubted me because of my size.”

Asked what he does to compensate, Stecher said: “A lot of the smaller skilled guys can be a bit perimeter, but I like to get into corners and fight my way around bigger guys and try to use my body to an advantage.

“People think it’s a disadvantage, but being net-front, people might take my weight lightly and, last second, I’m able to push them.

“With every negative there’s a positive.”

Source: Jason Botchford: Canucks fans are going to love Troy Stecher | Vancouver Sun

1297878525948_original — PENTICTON, BC., September 18, 2016 — Vancouver Canucks’ Cole Cassels (52) and Michael carcone (58) pursue Winnipeg Jets’ Luke Green (51) during third period 2016 NHL Young Stars Classic action at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, BC., September 18, 2016. (NICK PROCAYLO/PostMedia) 00045181A ORG XMIT: 00045181A

BY KEN WIEBE, WINNIPEG SUN Sept 18, 2016

PENTICTON, B.C. – – Pascal Vincent saw steps in the right direction.

The Winnipeg Jets slipped to 0-2 at the 2016 Young Stars Classic on Sunday afternoon in a 3-2 to the Vancouver Canucks at the South Okanagan Events Centre, but after falling 4-1 to the Calgary Flames in the tournament opener, this was a much more determined effort.

“Overall, it was a cleaner game than the last game. We got better as the game went on,” said Vincent, head coach of the Manitoba Moose and the man running the bench for the Jets during the prospects tournament. “It’s a baby step. Now we have to implement the details of our game. Creating battles and getting involved there..

Canucks defenceman Troy Stecher created some space and fired a shot from the right point that led to a rebound goal from Danny Moynihan at 11:16 of the first period.

Then the Canucks got a buzzer-beater with .3 seconds to go in the frame as Cole Cassels pounced on a rebound in front of the net.

Michael Spacek scored a beautiful goal to cut into the deficit, as he took advantage of a turnover by Canucks defenceman Olli Juolevi before walking in and beating Michael Garteig with a slick forehand deke at 3:37 of the third period.

Jimmy Lodge showed some soft hands by burying a shot in tight to even the score at 8:15 of the third, but the Canucks got the game-winning goal from Brandon product and Brandon Wheat Kings winger Tyler Coulter two minutes and 32 seconds later.

“It’s disappointing (to lose). But we put some good plays together and thought it was starting to come,” said Jets forward Brendan Lemieux.

The dynamic duo of Kyle Connor and Jack Roslovic wasn’t quite as dominant for the Jets, but they still managed to create plenty of opportunities.

The best one of the contest came in the final minute with the Jets goalie pulled in favour of an extra attacker.

Connor created a seam and found Roslovic for a one-timer that was stopped by the right pad of Garteig.

A replay showed that Coulter was offside, since Jets defenceman made a diving effort to prevent it from being a direct pass but video replay isn’t used at this event, so the goal counted.

“At 0-2, we’re going to want to get a win under our belt. That’s going to be important,” said Jets defenceman Nelson Nogier. “Just try to end things off on a good note.”

After catching the attention of the Canucks during the summer development camp, Coulter earned an invite to suit up for the Young Stars tournament as well.

While Coulter is expected to return to the Brandon Wheat Kings for his overage season, he’s trying to do enough to earn an NHL contract down the road.

“He played a heavy game, a hard game,” said Utica Comets head coach Travis Green, who is running the Canucks bench during this tournament. “He’s got a bigger body (six-feet and 195 pounds) that was getting engaged. I don’t know a lot about him, but what I saw, I liked.”

The Jets close out the tournament on Monday afternoon (1 p.m CDT) with a game against the Edmonton Oilers, who are 2-0 after victories over the Canucks and Calgary Flames.

“We’re going to focus on the first 10 minutes and go from there,” said Vincent. “If you have the puck, you don’t need to be physical. We want to get the puck back as much as we can. But I want to see our forecheck. I want to see our guys finishing their checks, that’s for sure.

“When you spot the puck in the proper area of the ice, you allow yourself to be physical.”

Forward Axel Blomqvist and defenceman Matt Murphy were the healthy scratches for the Jets on Sunday and they’re both expected to play against the Oilers.

Tournament invitees Antoine Waked and Kristians Rubins had their moments when they suited up for the first time in the event.

Waked is a strong skater and got involved physically, while Rubins (who will play for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL this season) did a decent job of moving the puck out of his zone.

Jets goalie Jamie Phillips turned aside 25 of the 28 shots he faced and he’ll serve as the backup against the Oilers as Mikhail Berdin, chosen in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL Draft, gets his first start.

Berdin is expected to play the full game.