Cumby Brings Big Frame, Big Dreams to Wenatchee
WENATCHEE, Wash. – Playing against defenseman Ashton Cumby is one tall task.
Last season, he was listed at 6’4″…and then he got an updated measurement from NHL Central Scouting last September: turns out, he’s really 6’6″. The exact height isn’t important, but here’s what is: Cumby will bring some big-game experience and big-time ferocity to the ice when the Wild open their first season in the Western Hockey League this fall.
Cumby hails from Bonnyville, Alberta, a city of roughly 6,000 that has produced four National Hockey League players – most notably Jim Harrison, who spent a 12-year career in the NHL and the rival World Hockey Association in the late 1960s and the ’70s – but has no AAA hockey in the neighborhood. After an outstanding U15 season with the Northern Alberta Hockey League’s Lakeland Panthers, a 90-mile trek south to the Lloydminster Bobcats was in order for the 2019-20 season.
That move paid off, with a 22-point season and a fourth-round selection in the WHL Bantam Draft in the spring of 2020. The pandemic season of 2020-21 yielded only four games and a pair of assists at the U18 level, but he picked right back up where he left off the following year with 14 points in 37 Lloydminster contests.
After playing in two games for the Winnipeg ICE in 2021-22, he earned a full-time spot on the Winnipeg roster last year, notching a pair of points in 55 appearances and playing in 10 games during the team’s run to the WHL Final. While he may not have posted big scoring numbers in his first year of junior hockey, he did make an impression with his work ethic and his drive to win, whether on the scoreboard or in a single battle for the puck.
“This offseason, I’ve been really focusing on my skating, and also been going hard in the gym, just trying to build off of last season,” said Cumby. “Last season was about building my game structurally, and getting comfortable with the demands and rigors of the WHL. This coming season, I’m looking to build off of last season and hopefully earn a bigger role – my goal will be to make it hard for other players to come into our barn and play against us. I’m really looking forward to helping in the community and making Wenatchee home for the season.”
With a long reach and good stick play, Cumby also made an impact on the penalty kill during his only full season in Manitoba, and has a ton of upside to realize during the 2023-24 campaign. It isn’t much of a reach to say that fans will like what they see when he steps onto the ice with the new-look Wild this season.
