WHL Season Rewind: Assist leaders
From start to finish, the 2019-20 Western Hockey League Regular Season provided plenty of standout performances both individually and as a team. Starting Friday, April 3, and featuring each Monday and Friday, we’ll reflect on key performers in statistical categories from the regular season that was. Welcome to the 2019-20 WHL Season Rewind. Today, we’re looking at assist leaders.
1. Eli Zummack, Spokane Chiefs (64 assists in 64 games)
Leading the league in assists, Spokane Chiefs forward Eli Zummack enjoyed a breakout season as a 19-year-old. The Kelowna, B.C. product recorded a helper in 42 of the 64 games he appeared in with 19 multi-assist games. Zummack recorded 28 of his 64 assists at home, including eight multi-assist games. His biggest performance came on the road this season as he recorded five assists in a win against the Calgary Hitmen on March 7, 2020. Overall, 36 of his assists came away from the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, including 11 multi-assist performances.
A four-game stretch from December 14 to 18, 2019 saw him post four-straight multi-assist games. He repeated that feat from February 22 to March 4, 2020 as part of a 10-game assist streak that saw him tally 19 helpers. That streak was tied for the third longest in the WHL this season.
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@Eli_Zummack had himself quite the performance Saturday w/ @spokanechiefs, taking over the WHL's assists lead. #WHLStats | #GoChiefsGo pic.twitter.com/SKtApWp6CN
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 8, 2020
2. Zane Franklin, Kamloops Blazers (62 assists in 63 games)
As part of a season of career-best totals for the Kamloops Blazers captain, Zane Franklin tallied 62 helpers to rank second among all WHL skaters. Including 17 multi-assist games, Franklin picked up at least a single helper in 40 of the 63 WHL games he appeared in this season. Franklin saw a near split of his assist totals at home and on the road, recording 33 helpers as the visitor and 29 assists inside the Sandman Centre. However, nine of his 17 multi-assist games featured on home ice, including two of his five three-assist games.
With a nine-game assist streak from November 30 to December 28, 2019, Franklin was tied for the fifth-longest assist streak in the WHL this season, recording 15 assists in that span. From January 11 to 18, 2020, Franklin impressed once again with four-straight multi-assist games.
The captain comes through! A four-point performance by @zaner19 also contributed to Tuesday's win for @blazerhockey! #WHLStats pic.twitter.com/8FCj17vWHo
— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 15, 2020
T3. Cole Fonstad, Everett Silvertips/Prince Albert Raiders (59 assists in 60 games)
The Montreal Canadiens prospect recorded 59 assists in 60 games between the Everett Silvertips and Prince Albert Raiders to tie for third among all WHL skaters. A product of Estevan, Sask., Fonstad tallied at least a single assist in 41 of the 60 games he appeared in this season, including 14 multi-assist games. Fonstad is the first member of this list to record more assists at home, tallying six with the Raiders and 25 with the Silvertips for a total of 31. With the Silvertips, he garnered 27 road assists, finishing with 28 road helpers in total.
He earned a perfect split of his multi-assist games, recording seven in home rinks and seven on the road. Recording 20 assists across 14 games from October 11 to November 30, 2019, Fonstad owned the league’s longest assist streak this season. The first four games of that stretch were notable as well, with Fonstad tallying nine assists over four-straight multi-assist games.
A four-point night for @CanadiensMTL prospect Cole Fonstad w/ @WHLsilvertips marked a special moment statistically! #WHLStats pic.twitter.com/zXNj2QBPEW
— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 29, 2019
T3. Adam Beckman, Spokane Chiefs (59 assists in 63 games)
As the league’s leading scorer, it’s no surprise that Minnesota Wild prospect Adam Beckman of the Chiefs also ranks high on helpers, contributing 59 assists in 63 games to tie for third in the WHL. The Saskatoon, Sask. product recorded at least a single helper in 39 of his 63 games this season, marking 16 multi-assist games as part of that figure. His top performance of the season assist-wise came on October 23, 2019 on home ice when he recorded four assists as part of a five-point game. As part of a near split, 29 assists came on home ice, including seven multi-assist games. As part of his 30 assists on the road, Beckman tallied the other nine multi-assist games.
Along with his teammate Zummack, Beckman’s longest assist streak also reached 10 games, taking place from January 29 to February 19, 2020, picking up 17 assists in that span. Recording four separate sequences of back-to-back multi-assist games during the season, two of those came in his first five games.
🚨🍏🍏🍏@mnwild prospect @AdamBeckman9 tallied another big performance for the @spokanechiefs Friday!#WHLStats pic.twitter.com/FWyr6KyBKv
— The WHL (@TheWHL) February 1, 2020
T5. Seth Jarvis, Portland Winterhawks (56 assists in 58 games)
Finishing second in scoring during the regular season, 2020 NHL Draft prospect Seth Jarvis of the Portland Winterhawks ranked in a tie for fifth with 56 assists through 58 games. Recording at least one assist in 37 of the 58 games he appeared in, the Winnipeg, Man. product tallied 12 multi-assist games, buoyed by two four-assist games and a trio of three-assist performances. Jarvis had some of his best performances on home ice, recording 33 assists in the state of Oregon. That figure was buoyed by eight of his multi-assist games, including all of his three-assist games and one four-assist game.
Jarvis’ longest assist streak of the season came in at 17 assists over eight games, occurring between January 7 to 31, 2020. That stretch also featured his longest multi-assist streak of the season as he recorded seven assists over three games from January 19 to 25, 2020.
Five-point games as of Jan. 1: 0
Five-point games as of Feb. 16: 3Yeah, 2020 #NHLDraft prospect @jarvy44 of @pdxwinterhawks is on a roll.#WHLStats pic.twitter.com/QsOXjkZBns
— The WHL (@TheWHL) February 17, 2020
T5. James Hamblin, Medicine Hat Tigers (56 assists in 63 games)
The lone Eastern Conference skater to appear on this list, Medicine Hat Tigers captain James Hamblin tallied 56 helpers in 63 games to power his Club this season. With assists in 36 of the 63 games he appeared in, Hamblin had 14 multi-assist games. Powered by a five-assist game on December 10, 2019 and seven other multi-assist games, the Edmonton, Alta. product recorded 32 of his 56 helpers away from the Canalta Centre. At home, Hamblin picked up his other 24 helpers, including six multi-assist games. A pair of his three-assist games came on home ice.
Hamblin’s longest assist streak of the season spanned five games from December 10 to 27, 2019 with him recording nine helpers over that span. He recorded three multi-assist games over a four-game stretch from October 11 to 20, 2019.
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Tuesday was also a career night for @tigershockey captain @HamblinJames10, who now stands alone in the WHL scoring lead!#WHLStats pic.twitter.com/YHGtbdMuCo
— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 11, 2019
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