Howden Hitting New Level
(Story courtesy Marc Smith, DiscoverMooseJaw.com) Brett Howden has been around the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Western Hockey League for a long time.
After watching his older brother, Quinton, go through the battles in the post-season with the Warriors, the younger Howden knew that he needed to step his game up.
Howden had an outstanding second season with the Warriors, setting new career-highs for goals (24), assists (40) and points (64). He has taken the next step now in the playoffs after posting three goals and 11 points in the opening round win over Prince Albert.
“He had a strong finish to the regular season and it’s great for him to be doing what he’s doing,” said roommate, and fellow NHL draft prospect, Noah Gregor.
“He’s a real big guy and can handle that physical play and I think he’ll just keep this going.”
Howden led the Warriors in scoring in the first round and enters the second round sitting second in the WHL in scoring, just one point behind regular season scoring champ Adam Brooks of the Regina Pats.
Coming into the playoffs, Howden knew that he was going to need to push his game to the next level to help the team have the success that they were looking for.
“I’ve always liked watching playoffs and even in midget, we went for a good playoff run, it’s a ton of fun to watch and it’s even better playing in it,” said Howden. “I love playing in it, just the intensity and the style of play it is, there’s no words to describe it, it’s a lot of fun.”
The style of Howden’s game fits perfectly for the playoffs. The six-foot-three centre showed an added edge to his game throughout the first round, pushing back against the Raiders’ physical play. He also isn’t afraid to go to the front of the net, which has helped generate offence for the Tribe.
Howden’s linemates also fed off his physical play with Tanner Jeannot nailing a number of Raiders with bone crushing hits during the series and Jayden Halbgewachs giving them fits on the fore check and in the defensive zone.
“It’s nice for him to be leading us in the playoffs right now and if he keeps it going it obviously helps us out too,” said Halbgewachs, who finished with three goals and six points in five games. “He can shoot the puck, he can pass the puck and he helps us out a lot. Our line in general is doing great and we just need to keep going.”
The five games against Prince Albert may have been the first bit of playoff experience for Howden, but he’s experienced big games before at the international level with Hockey Canada.
Howden said the WHL Playoffs are a different animal however.
“You can use those past experiences to help you out, but we can lean on our leaders in the locker room, they really helped us out in the first round,” he said.
With the second round on the horizon now, the Warriors have been focusing on making sure their game remains sharp heading into their next action at the end of the week.
Howden said they need to stay fresh as they look to step their game up again in the second round.
“This is a nice a little rest here, but we’re not taking a week off and we’ll be ready to go for Game 1,” he said.
“That first round allowed us to gain more confidence, it was the first time in playoffs for a lot of us and not a lot of playoff experience, but I thought we did really well in the first round and that confidence will just help us going forward.”
The Warriors will open the second round in Brandon for Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Saturday.
