CHL stars hit the century mark
By Aaron Bell
Linden Vey didn’t have 100 points on his mind as he entered his fourth season with the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The 19-year-old from Wakaw, SK enjoyed a pair of statistically mirrored seasons with 24 goals and 72 points in 2008-09 and 24 goals and 75 points last season but an increased focus on conditioning in the off-season has been paying off for him this year.
Vey became the first player in the CHL hit to hit the 100 point plateau this season when he picked up an assist in a 3-2 loss to the Kelowna Rockets last Wednesday.
Vey is leading the WHL and CHL scoring race as the season gets down to the final few weeks.
“It’s something you try not to really focus on,” the Los Angeles Kings’ prospect told The Regina Leader-Post.
“The more you worry about it, the worse you play, so I just focus on what I can control. We have a good team here. A lot of the success I’m having is because of the team we have and the guys I’m playing with. Any time you’re winning, plus having personal success, it’s a pretty good feeling.”
The Tigers have already clinched a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference and with 39 wins and 85 points in 63 games are among the upper echelon of teams in the WHL this season.
“You don’t really expect that (100 points),” said Tigers’ coach Shaun Clouston. “But I knew early in training camp he was ready to go. He was really moving his feet and dominating some scrimmages that we had early on. We believed he’d have a real good season and he’s doing just that.
“He has been a big part of our success. He has definitely stepped it up this year. He wants to be a pro and he’s going after it.”
Vey is one of four CHL players that has reached the century mark in scoring already this season.
Tyler Johnson of the Spokane Chiefs scored a goal and added three assists in an 8-0 win over the Prince George Cougars on Friday. His assist on Brenden Kichton’s second period powerplay marker gave him his first 100 point season in four years with the Chiefs.
“It’s something pretty special,” Johnson told The Spokesman-Review. “I guess it was good to do that (on the power play) because it’s one of the plays that got me a lot of points this year on the power play.”
Jason Akeson of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers also hit the 100 point plateau last week. He had three assists in Kitchener’s 4-3 win over the Saginaw Spirit on Friday to reach the 100-point mark for the first time in his four year career.
“It was special,” Akeson told The Kitchener-Waterloo Record. “I’ve played here for four years. When seven thousand people are cheering for you, you get a couple butterflies in your stomach, that’s for sure.”
Philip-Michaël Devos of the Gatineau Olympiques in the QMJHL picked up his 100th point of the season on a third period goal in Sunday’s 6-1 win over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Devos has 27 points in 20 games since joining the Olympiques from the Victoriaville Tigres in January.
“It’s my last year in the league and all I want to do is win,” Devos told The Ottawa Citizen two weeks ago. “I don’t know where I’m going to play next year, so I just want to take this one game at a time and enjoy it as much as I can.”