Giants rookie a popular man in Regina
Saskatchewan native Kannok Leipert is finding his footing in first full WHL season
Alex Kannok Leipert is good for business — the Regina Pats’ business specifically. Vancouver Giants rookie defenceman Kannok Leipert is a Regina native. The Giants visit the Regina Pats on Saturday at the Brandt Centre. Kannok Leipert has been told at least 95 family members and friends have bought tickets to the tilt at last count.
“It’s going to be pretty surreal, having grown up there and watched the Pats play all my life,” said Kannok Leipert, 17. “We had season tickets and we’d be at a lot of games, and getting to watch guys like Jordan Eberle and Jordan Weal is something I’ll always remember.”
As for helping the Regina attendance on Saturday, Kannok Leipert said: “My dad knows one of the Pats owners. He’s already mentioned it to him.”
Fellow freshman rearguard Bowen Byram, 16, is nabbing a lot of the attention for his play with Vancouver, but the Giants consider Kannok Leipert one of the keys to the future as well.
The 5-11, 192-pound right-handed shot is a savvy, puck-moving type. He should be a guy who puts up numbers once he settles in.
Kannok Leipert is coming off a 2016-17 campaign where he helped the Regina Pat Canadians win the Saskatchewan Midget Triple A title, earning top defenceman honours in the league. He had 10 goals and 35 points in 44 regular-season games with the squad. He had a couple of call-up stints with the Giants as well.
“He skates, he has good smarts and he can shoot the puck,” said Vancouver associate coach Dean Chynoweth, who is in charge of handling the defencemen for head coach Jason McKee. “And you can throw on top of that that he’s a great kid.
“All these young kids all bring something different and they’re all at my heels every day, asking questions and wanting to get better. It’s been a blast.”
Kannok Leipert added: “I feel like I’m starting to find my game a little bit more every time out. At the start of the year, I felt like I was getting pushed around too much, but I’m learning to play against faster, stronger guys.”
The quick, uptempo style that McKee is trying to employ seems to fit Kannok Leipert as well, who said, “I like the way the team plays. We’re always moving. We’re never stagnant.”
The Vancouver Giants picked Kannok Leipert with a fourth-round choice in the 2015 WHL bantam draft. He insisted he wasn’t gutted when he was passed over by his hometown Pats.
“I was just happy to be taken by a team in the WHL draft,” he said. “We have some family and friends in Vancouver and I had spent some time there. I knew it was a beautiful part of the country and I was excited with the idea of living somewhere new.”
Going into Wednesday’s game against the host Saskatoon Blades, Kannok Leipert had one goal and no assists in nine games this season with Vancouver. The Giants carried a 3-4-1-1 record into the game.
They beat the Prince Albert Raiders 5-4 in overtime Tuesday to move to 1-1-1-0 on their six-game Eastern Conference road trip. Dawson Holt scored the winner for Vancouver.
Vancouver visits the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday before playing in Regina Saturday. They return home after that.
Their next home game is Oct. 27, when the Prince George Cougars visit the Langley Events Centre.