One conversation with Kingston Frontenacs forward Shane Wright is all it takes to see that there’s a special maturity about him.
Granted exceptional player status last spring and drafted first-overall by Kingston in the OHL Priority Selection last April, Wright has settled in well during his first season of major junior — and proved worthy of that status.
“What’s been impressive is his maturity level,” said Frontenacs coach Kurtis Foster. “For a kid who is 16 years old, from Game 1 he’s been one of our hardest working guys. He leads by example every day. He’s a kid that you don’t have to tell him to get his sleep or get the right nutrition and hydration. That’s part of his routine already. It’s pretty amazing to see how mature he is at such a young age.”
“Part of coaching junior is teaching kids how to grow up and be almost like professionals,” Foster added. “When you have a kid who comes in and has already got it down, it’s pretty amazing to see — and he’s a year younger. It’s pretty awesome. He always wants to get better every day.
“He doesn’t take practice off. For his workouts, he’s always on time. He pushes it to the limit every time. He’s a guy that we’re lucky to have leading our franchise going forward.”
For Wright, his confidence has grown since the start of the season.
“It’s been fun,” Wright said. “It’s a huge honour to be granted [exceptional status]. Throughout the season, I feel like I’ve been growing as a player and as a person. As the season has gone on, I’ve been feeling more confident in my abilities on the ice and off the ice.”
Foster credited a strong performance at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge as a boost for Wright, whose game took off further after the tournament.
“He was playing well, but he went to the Under-17 (tournament) and when he came back, he just came back a new person,” Foster said. “He went there and he got confidence that he was one of the best players in that age group, which is a year older than him. He came back with a new swagger and a new mindset that he wanted the puck on his stick. He wanted the game on his stick, and he wanted to be in key situations. Ever since then, he’s just taken off.”
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Making the jump to the OHL after playing minor midget with the Don Mills Flyers last season, Wright was forced to make some adjustments. The competition is more physically imposing, and the level of performance needed on a nightly basis to perform against that competition is higher, too. So far, Wright is pleased with how he’s faced those challenges.
“Obviously with a lot of older players, it’s been bigger, faster, and a lot of guys are stronger as well,” Wright said. “I feel like building up that physical strength and that maturity as well as learning how to play the game differently and think the game differently (were an adjustment). Stuff that worked in minor hockey might not work in the OHL. I’ve really just adjusted my game that way.”
“My shooting and my scoring (have improved),” Wright continued. “I spent a lot of time in the summer working on my shot and working on my finishing ability. I feel like as the season has gone on, that’s really paid off for me.”
Off the ice, Wright credited his billets — those providing him with a place to live — as a major help in making the adjustment to living away from home.
“It was different living with billets and away from my family,” Wright said of the move from his hometown of Burlington, Ont. to Kingston, a roughly three-hour drive. “Going to a new school in a new city where I had never been before, it was an adjustment. My billets have been amazing. They’ve done a great job helping me get adjusted to that type of lifestyle.”
Wright didn’t necessarily have specific expectations entering the season, saying he “just wanted to take it one game at a time and just see where it would take me and how it progresses.”
But that hasn’t stopped others from drawing comparisons between him and other players like Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid and Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares — who were both granted exceptional player status as well.
“It’s pretty special,” Wright said of the comparisons. “Those are guys I watch on TV every night. They are guys who are role models to me and guys who play the game like I want to play it and they’re in spots where I want to be when I’m older.”
Khovanov Rolling Along
Last week you may remember Minnesota Wild prospect Alexander Khovanov getting some recognition for a lengthy points streak, one that had him in second in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s scoring race.
Things haven’t changed much for the Moncton Wildcats forward since then. He had points in all three games last week to extend his point streak to 17 games — the longest streak of anyone in the league this season.
Meanwhile, Raphael Lavoie of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, an Oilers prospect, has the second-longest active streak with points in 16 consecutive games.
Lavoie, acquired from the Halifax Mooseheads, has 25 points in the streak and 36 total in 24 games since joining Chicoutimi.
Zummack On Fire
Eli Zummack of the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs is on quite the hot streak of late.
The fourth-year forward, in the midst of a career-year, is on a nine-game point streak in which he has amassed 20 points.
The streak includes a five-assist performance on Saturday night in a 6-3 Spokane win over the Calgary Hitmen in Calgary.
Zummack has been held off the scoresheet just twice since Jan. 1.
