Filmon finds his scoring touch in the playoffs
Josh Filmon has displayed an elite goal scorer’s touch in his first taste of Western Hockey League playoff action. The Swift Current Broncos sniper scored in five straight games and had six goals in as many games to open the WHL playoffs.
“I’m just being prepared to shoot all over the ice. My teammates have been doing a good job of finding me in the slot and around the net. It’s just being a little trigger happy. On top of that, finishing the regular season and leading into playoffs I felt pretty comfortable with the puck on my stick, so building good practice habits and making sure I’m ready to shoot,” said the 6’3” forward.
“I really like that he’s getting into spots, putting himself in good positions, and finishing when he has a chance. Credit the work he’s put in the past couple months to get himself back on track,” added Interim Head Coach Taras Mcewen.
Filmon has 99 goals in 212 regular season games with the Broncos, including a 47-goal campaign in 2022-23. The pucks just didn’t seem to go in as frequently this season as he ‘only’ scored 27 goals in 64 regular season outings.
“It was just staying mentally strong,” said Filmon. “I had to make a couple changes to my game that was going to allow for more team success and allow for me to make the transition to the next level at some point. At the end of the day you’ve got to play a certain style if you want to be a good pro and if
you want to be on a team that wins a championship at this level. It was just about sticking with the process and making sure that I had good scoring practice and habits all the way through and I knew eventually they were going to start coming.”
“I’ve just really liked his work ethic in practice,” added Mcewen. “Even for the last couple months, I just felt that at some point he is going to get rewarded because he has put a lot of work in practice and detail and he’s been getting a lot of real good chances, a lot of good looks, especially
at the end of the regular season. I just feel like now he’s getting some confidence in his shot. Once he kind of felt that now hopefully he can just keep it going.”
Filmon’s commitment to his all-around game helped the Broncos win 40 games and the Central Division banner.
“I think it’s been really important. It’s not only me, I think there’s been a couple other guys for sure who have really bought into that more well-rounded game. I think it’s been evident, as you’ve seen, our team’s had a lot more success this year, so we’ve learned
how to bear down and play defense a little bit more and we can still rely on that offense when we need it without forcing it,” said Filmon.
“I think that’s the biggest change from this year to last year is just his work that he’s put in to be a better player away from the puck and more of a 200-foot player,” said Mcewen. “I think he’s a lot more reliable in our D-zone. He kills penalties. He does a lot of little things really well for us.”
Filmon was a fourth round pick of the Broncos in 2019. The Winnipeg native was drafted in the sixth round by the
New Jersey Devils in the 2022 NHL Draft.
“Last year he was obviously finishing on every chance that he got. This year he was still getting the chances, he just wasn’t finishing. I think just his overall game, he’s turned into more of a complete player. That’s what’s going to make him successful here in the playoffs and then down the road into his professional career,” said Mcewen.
The Broncos power play was operating at 47.4 percent after the first six games of the playoffs, tops in the WHL.
“I think just the puck movement and never really getting satisfied,” said Filmon of the unit’s success. “Our assistant coach Zack Smith has done an unbelievable job just pre-scouting other defenses and teaching us how to play more as a unit rather than just a couple of shooters on the flanks. I think the connectivity between us a unit has been really good, relieving pressure with rim releases and then knowing when to get pucks to the net and how to create lanes for each other.”
The Broncos opened the highly anticipated second round series with a 7-2 win over the host Moose Jaw Warriors. Game two was a stunning reversal of fortunes when the Warriors authored their own 7-2 victory on Saturday in Moose Jaw.
“I still feel really confident,” said Filmon. “We’ve been a team that’s responded well all season long. I’m not too worried about what happened last night and I think the team is
going to bounce back well. We know if we play fast and if we’re hard on other teams’ D-men, making teams turn and putting pucks behind them, that’s going to lead to us having success. If we can stay away from this super run-and-gun transition game we’re pretty confident that our goalie is going to make the stops and we’re going to wear their D down.”
Filmon, now in his fourth season with the Broncos, has been enjoying his first taste of the WHL playoffs.
“It’s been very exciting. I think it’s been cool to see how the community is rallying around us, especially with the rivalry between Swift Current and Moose Jaw. It’s been pretty cool just the fan attendance at road games and people sticking with us by our side, so we really appreciate it. I also believe that this is a pretty special group and we’ve got what it takes to win. It’s just going to be how many games we can come out and play as close to our best as we can.”