2016 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Brett Howden
Leading up to the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York, on June 24th and 25th, WHL.ca will highlight WHL players looking to hear their names called on draft day. The eighth featured WHL player is Moose Jaw Warriors’ forward Brett Howden.
Brett Howden – Moose Jaw Warriors
Forward
Hometown: Oakbank, MB
D.O.B: March 29th, 1998
Ht: 6’3”
Wt: 190 lbs
Shoots: Left
NHL C.S.S. Final Ranking: 22nd amongst North American skaters
Howden recently completed his second season in the Western Hockey League with the Moose Jaw Warriors. The native of Oakbank, MB recorded 64 points (24g-40a) while playing in 68 games this season.
“He’s a complete player,” said Moose Jaw Warriors General Manager Alan Millar when referring to Howden’s abilities. “He’s got offensive upside but also understands his responsibilities in the defensive end. He’s a big guy, strong, works hard down low, kill’s penalties, he does it all. He’s a very smart player.”
Millar further added that Howden has no glaring weak points in his game but could use improvement as do all young players.
“Brett competes hard and I think the only thing he needs to work on is that he’d like to generate more offence. But, he’s still a young player and those opportunities will come. There’s no glaring weaknesses in Brett’s game. He just has to work on the fundamentals on and off the ice as any young player does.”
Furthermore, the Warriors’ General Manager stated that his skill set reminds him of current NHLer Ryan Kesler.
“It’s difficult to compare some of these young players to some current NHL players but he has the upside of a Ryan Kesler. We’ll find out in about 10 years.”
Selected by the Warriors fifth overall in the first round of the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, Howden earned a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament and also earned a roster spot with Team Orr at the 2016 CHL Top Prospects Game in Vancouver.
WHL Statistics
Regular Season | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM |
2015-16 | Moose Jaw Warriors | 68 | 24 | 40 | 64 | -7 | 61 |
2014-15 | Moose Jaw Warriors | 68 | 22 | 24 | 46 | -31 | 24 |
2013-14 | Moose Jaw Warriors | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Q & A with Brett Howden
You won a gold medal with Team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in August. How did that experience help you heading into the 2015-16 WHL season?
It was a really good start to the year. Going overseas with a bunch of my buddies was a lot fun and bringing that experience back definitely provided a big confidence boost heading into the season. It really helped to get things rolling.
Being ranked amongst North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, what do you do to stay focused on the task at hand?
I try not to worry about it too much. Guys are going to say different things about every player in the league and I try to just focus on the task at hand. The personal success will take care of itself and that’s the way I go about it.
Who was your favourite NHL team growing up?
My favourite NHL team is the Chicago Blackhawks.
Which current NHL player do you feel you have a similar skill set and are trying to emulate?
Obviously, I love the way Jonathan Toews plays, a two-way centremen and cares about the team. You can tell by the way he handles himself with the media and the way he plays on the ice. But, I think I play more like a Joe Thornton, a big power forward who can play on both ends of the ice, generate offence, and he’s an awesome centremen.
Who was your favourite WHL team growing up?
My brother played here in Moose Jaw so I’ve always been a Warriors fan.
What is your favourite moment in your hockey career up to this point?
There’s been a lot of great things. I think one that sticks out is playing with Team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka last summer but there have been lots of great moments. The medal does stick out above all.
How have you adapted to playing in the WHL?
Moving out from Midget, it’s a much faster league. Guys are bigger, stronger and a lot older as well so there’s obviously a lot of changes in the game but every player tries to adapt to it and find their way.
What do you need to accomplish in order to have success at the next level?
I think just working on everything. You got to work on all areas all the time. We have lots of time to practice and with playing games so for every player, it’s working on everything whether if its skating, stick handling, shooting; there are plenty of stuff to be working on all the time. That’s the cool thing about hockey, there’s never enough time to learn everything. There’s always new stuff to try and that’s the beauty of the game.
What is your favourite activity or hobby away from hockey?
In the summertime, my brother and I love to play golf and tennis a lot.