Warriors high on Pat Canadians’ Jayden Halbgewachs
MOOSE JAW — The Moose Jaw Warriors’ scouting staff had a lot of chances to look at Jayden Halbgewachs as he developed.
Without a first-round WHL bantam-draft selection, they never had the chance to draft the Emerald Park product, but given a second chance to add the speedy 5-foot-7 winger, the Warriors made sure they got their man.
Halbgewachs was acquired 10 days ago along with defenceman Tyler Bell and a first-round pick in 2015 from the Kamloops Blazers in exchange for 19-year-old defenceman Joel Edmundson and a fourth-round pick.
On Saturday, the Warriors introduced Halbgewachs to the media and presented him with a Warriors jersey and a hat.
“Jayden was the guy we asked for and Jayden was the player we wanted to be part of this trade,” said Warriors GM Alan Millar.
The Blazers had selected Halbgewachs with the 19th overall pick in the draft. He was also selected to take part in the NHLPA All-Canadians National Mentorship Cup this past summer.
Millar said that he, assistant GM, hockey operations Rob MacLachlan and scouts Mark Penny and Doug Gasper watched a lot of games and read several reports about Halbgewachs and are excited about his potential.
“I think Jayden is a guy that’s going to get better and better. He scored 55 goals in Balgonie last year,” Miller said of the prospect’s production in 24 bantam games. “We believe that he’s dynamic; he’s exciting. I think his hockey IQ is very good and we think that at 18 and 19 years old he’ll be a very good player in the Western Hockey League.”
While it isn’t easy being traded before you even set foot on the ice in the WHL, Halbgewachs has taken the move in stride.
“I’m happy I got traded here. It’s nice and close to home,” said Halbgewachs. “They’re a developing organization and hopefully they’ll be a good team when I start to play here.
“I was really happy and I think my parents were especially happy.”
Halbgewachs picked up an assist on the Regina Pat Canadians’ only goal in a 4-1 Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League loss to the Moose Jaw Generals on Saturday. The Generals then beat the host Pat Canadians 2-0 on Sunday, leaving Halbgewachs with nine goals and 18 points in 24 games so far this season.
“He’ll be better in the back half than he was in the first half once he gets used to the league,” said Pat Canadians head coach Norm Johnston. “It’s more of a team game in midget than it is in bantam.
“Everybody can skate at this level. At the bantam level you can stand still and still beat guys. You can’t do that at this level.”
Halbgewachs feels he needs to work on his consistency shift to shift and is working on the defensive side of his game. He also wants to continue to develop offensively, though it is clearly already a strength in his game.
“I think after Christmas hopefully I’ll step up my game and get some more points on the board,” said Halbgewachs. “The biggest adjustment has been the speed. It’s a higher tempo than last season and I’m not able to do the same things that I could last season.”
Making the adjustment to midget AAA often isn’t easy for 15-year-olds like Halbgewachs, but he has a slight advantage. He has always played with older players in summer hockey, thanks to his 18-year-old brother, Brandon. Brandon plays with the La Ronge Ice Wolves of the SJHL and is a former teammate of Bell’s in their time with the Pat Canadians. Jayden knows Bell as well and played against him this summer.
“I play with the older group, like my brother,’’ Halbgewachs said. “I never really play with my age group. I like to move up with my brother to try to get my skills up to theirs.’’
The Pat Canadians won’t be taking part in any tournaments over the holiday break and Johnston is confident Halbgewachs will continue to progress in 2013.
“He reads the play so well, but I think at times he underestimates the speed of the puck and the speed of the opponent,” said Johnston. “I think the break will be good for him. All 15-year-olds are better in the second half of the season. They get refreshed and get some energy.”
■ Rykr Cole and Ben Verrall scored for Moose Jaw on Sunday, when Ryland Pashovitz made 20 saves for the shutout at the Co-operators Centre. The Pat Canadians’ Cameron Pateman made 19 saves.
Mitch Lipon scored the lone goal for Regina on Sunday. Trey Tendler, Brett Bohlken, Shane Collins and Ben Duperreault scored for Moose Jaw. Logan Flodell and made 30 saves for Regina. Grant Naherniak stopped 29 shots for the Generals.