Climbing the depth chart
Schoettler takes on challenge of filling in for Team Canada hopeful Cholowski
Two of the next five games ahead of the Prince George Cougars are against the Victoria Royals and that suits Cougar defenceman Ryan Schoettler just fine. As a stay-at-home defenceman, Schoettler doesn’t score very often. In fact, he has just four goals in his 89 Western Hockey League regular-season games, but three of those four goals have come against Victoria. The first came in only his second career game against the Royals, Sept. 24, 2016.
Schoettler’s two-goal outburst Tuesday against the Royals at CN Centre staked the Cats to a 3-0 lead and they hung on to beat the B.C. Division leaders 5-4 to gain three of a possible four points in the two-game series.
Schoettler said he knew with top-scoring defenceman Dennis Cholowski off to Canada’s world junior team camp he had to pick up the offensive slack and was glad to see him and fellow blueliner Cole Moberg both find the net.
“That was a crazy game, it felt like everything I shot had a chance to go in or went in,” said Schoettler, who’s expected to be in the lineup tonight in Kent, Wash., where the Cougars begin a threegame road trip against the Seattle Thunderbirds (7:35 p.m. start, 94.3 FM The Goat).
“Obviously, losing a guy like (Cholowski) we lose a lot of offence and we know the veteran dmen had to step up. We got three out of four points against them and that’s what we hoped for. We know it’s crucial to get points early here because we know we have a tough schedule coming up with a long road trip that’s going to be a grind.”
The Cougars play their next seven games on the road. Prince George Cougars defenceman Ryan Schoettler looks for an open teammate during a Dec. 5 game at CN Centre against the Kootenay Ice.
Schoettler lacks the booming shot some pointmen are known for around the league but the 18-year-old from Lloydminster, Alta., is smart and quick enough with the puck to make confident last-second adjustments to find the shooting lanes that allow shots to get through to the goalies and create rebounds. Through 31 games, Schoettler has three goals and seven assists for 10 points, already matching his 58-game point production last season.
“It feels good knowing I’m one of the key guys on the team now – the coaches rely on you and the guys rely on you to have a good game and it’s fun,” said Schoettler. “It’s a lot different, coming up from midget. These guys are a lot faster and bigger and if you mess up they can make you pay for it big.”
The Cougars picked Schoettler in the seventh round of the 2014 WHL bantam draft. Before he joined the Cougars he played two seasons for the Lloydminster Bobcats midget triple-A team, helping them get to the bronzemedal game at the 2016 Telus Cup national championship.
The experience of playing oneand-a-half seasons in the WHL shows in Schoettler’s puck-moving abilities. He rarely turns it over and he’s becoming more adept at finding his teammates with breakout passes. He stands five-foot-10 and weighs just 170 pounds and despite his lack of size Schoettler is no slouch when it comes to moving bodies in front of his own net.
“(Schoettler) is unbelievable and we’re going to keep selling this kid to all these NHL teams knowing he is that good,” said Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk. “He came into camp last year and we didn’t know what to expect and he basically stole a job and by the end of the year he was in our top two.
“You would think he was sixfoot-four, 240 pounds. He doesn’t back down from anybody, he plays a physical game and it’s just great to have a kid like that. We make fun of him all the time but when he actually shoots it, it’s pretty good. Schoettler’s goals were going in because guys were willing to stand there and screen.”
The Cougars play Saturday in Everett (7:05 p.m.) and head into the Christmas break after playing in Vancouver Sunday afternoon (4 p.m.). They will be without centre Brogan O’Brien (knee injury) but will welcome back leading scorer Kody McDonald for tonight’s game in Seattle after he missed the last three games with a suspension.
Cougars rookie centre Max Kryski is looking to pick up where he left off Tuesday when he scored the game-winner with six minutes left, the first goal of his WHL career.
“I was getting lots of chances out there and I knew one would go in, I just had to keep working hard and it came,” said Kryski. “I just tried to drive the net and it was a nice pass by (Nic) Holowko and I was able to pull around the d-man through his legs and it got through. It was a pretty great feeling.”
Kryski, 17, knows he has some catching up to do to match his 19-year-old brother Jake, a fourth-year centre for the Calgary Hitmen, who has 43 goals and 111 points in 208 WHL games.
Kryski’s parents, Murray and Lisa, made the trip up from their home in Kelowna to see him score his goal. Usually a fourth-liner, Kryski started the game as the second-line centreman with Jackson Leppard and Josh Maser.
“We gave him a little bone (Tuesday) knowing that Brogan’s out and I thought he accepted his role really well and was good defensively and if he keeps putting pucks to the net, good things happen,” said Matvichuk.
— Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk