Estephan wins weekly CHL honours

Lethbridge Hurricanes’ Georgio Estephan’s weekend performance has been recognized by the Canadian Hockey League.

After earning Western Hockey League Player of the Week honours, the Hurricanes’ assistant captain was also named CHL Player of the Week for the week ending April 9. Estephan scored four goals and added three assists in three games.

Estephan began his week by helping the Hurricanes advance to the second round of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Playoffs with a seven-game series win over the Red Deer Rebels. In Game 7 last Tuesday he scored a goal and added two assists as third star of the 6-2 victory as the Canes captured their first playoff series win since 2009.

Hurricanes then earned a split in the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinal against Medicine Hat. Tigers blanked the Hurricanes 4-0 in the opener, but Hurricanes won Game 2 7-4 powered by Estephan’s fourpoint performance which included a hat-trick, assist, and first-star honours.

A 20-year-old from Edmonton, Estephan has played all four years of his WHL career with the Hurricanes who selected him fourth overall in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft. He is tied with teammate Tyler Wong for first in playoff scoring with 13 points in just seven games played following a regular season campaign where he recorded a career-high 89 points including 35 goals and 54 assists in 68 games. Estephan was a sixth-round pick of the Sabres in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Meanwhile, three Hurricanes are listed in the final Central Scouting rankings for the NHL draft.

Hurricanes’ goalie Stuart Skinner is ranked fifth among North American goaltenders. Hurricane forward Jordie Bellerive is ranked 82nd among North American skaters while Ryan Bowen is ranked 204th.