Barzal pacing CHL rookie race
By Aaron Bell
It didn’t take very long for Mathew Barzal to make an impact on his Seattle Thunderbirds teammates.
Barzal, the first overall pick in the 2012 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft, has already racked up 19 points just 13 games into his WHL career. And while his teammates already knew that Barzal was a special talent, he started to deliver on that promise for real right from the start of the season.
Barzal was the first player over the boards for the shootout in their season-opening win over the Portland Winterhawks last month. He buried that chance and helped start the Thunderbirds’ season off on the right foot.
The 16-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C. has had at least one point in 11 of the Thunderbirds’ first 13 games and has helped the club jump out to a 9-3-0-1 record that has them in third place in the Western Conference.
“The league has been really good so far,” Barzal told the Canadian Press last week. “I knew it would be a lot quicker and it has. I don’t have as much time with the puck as I used to and everything is just harder. Everything has just gone really well so far.”
Barzal is tied for eighth in the WHL scoring race and shares the rookie scoring lead with Nikita Scherbak of the Saskatoon Blades.
Thunderbirds coach Steve Konowalchuk said that he isn’t surprised that Barzal already has 16 assists in his first 13 games.
“His talent is unique and he makes it easy for the other guys to play with him,” said Konowalchuk, who is in his third season behind the Thunderbirds’ bench after a 15-year NHL playing career. “He’s such a good passer that he has fit right in.”
Barzal has said that he isn’t worried about how many points he’s putting up on the board, just that he’s learning along the way.
“My success isn’t determined by points,” Barzal said. “I can have a great game and go pointless. I don’t care if I score 15 goals or 50 as long as we win.”
Konowalchuk sees Barzal doing all the right things that a first year player should be doing and said that will pay off for Barzal and the Thunderbirds down the road.
“He’s improving, getting better every day,” Konowalchuk said. “There are a lot of guys who have the talent to play in the NHL, but to do that you have to play a complete hockey game, be a good defensive hockey player and win battles to get the puck. He’s improved and is more consistent in all of those areas.”
Barzal isn’t the only rookie making an impact in the Canadian Hockey League this season.
In the QMJHL, Nikolaj Ehlers, the sixth overall pick in the CHL Import Draft, is pacing the Halifax Mooseheads with eight goals and 17 points in 16 games while Charlottetown Islanders first rounder Daniel Sprong already has eight goals and 14 points in his first 13 games.
In the OHL, Mitchell Marner of the London Knights is the top rookie scorer so far with two goals and 11 points in 11 games. First overall pick Travis Konecny of the Ottawa 67’s is close behind with four goals and 10 points in 13 games.