The Calgary Hitmen have skated to a 3-0-1 start to the season with confident goaltenders and over-agers who are proving their worth on and off the ice, but the Western Hockey League club is missing a player who quietly contributed to the team last year, adding unassuming depth to the offensive lineup.
With 63 points in the 2011-2012 season, including 30 goals – good for second best on the team – Victor Rask made a name for himself during his first season in the league as an 18-year-old, but now eligible to play in the American Hockey League, Rask has accepted a new challenge.
The 19-year-old was selected in the second round, 42nd overall, in the 2011 NHL draft by the Carolina Hurricanes and after almost two weeks, remains in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Checkers training camp.
While his chances of making the squad as the youngest player at camp are seemingly slim (especially as young NHLers look for a place to call home during the lockout), the 6-foot-1, 192 pound, centre says he’s only trying to impress himself.
“It’s huge for me, just really great. I just want to play my best and prove to myself that I can play at a high level,” says the native of Leksand, Sweden, where he played four seasons for his hometown team before moving to Calgary.
Oh, and if you think after being drafted 42nd, a 63-point debut season in the WHL, winning a gold medal on Team Sweden at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Calgary, and an invite to an AHL camp would produce a teenager with no modesty, think again.
To say Rask graciously accepted the challenge of what could be the start of a professional career is an understatement. He’s unbelievably quiet and what he has mentioned in brief interviews recently hasn’t been about himself, but rather, his modest thoughts on the Hitmen roster this season.
“I think the team is very good, I played with a few of them last year so I know a couple guys we have,” he says. “I think we’re a good team and I think because everybody is one year older now, it’s going to be a good year.”
Hitmen Head Coach, Mike Williamson, continues to play the “wait-and-see” game with the Checkers as their camp continues but he knows this is all part of the process of playing hockey for a living. That is, while trying to steer his young squad in the right direction as the WHL year moves forward.
“Certainly, I hope he’s back for our sake and we certainly wouldn’t shut the door if we heard he was coming back but Victor’s gotta got there and give it his best shot, it’ll be good for his development.”
According to the Checker’s website Thursday, the majority of the now 31-player roster will travel to Norfolk to play two pre-season games against the AHL Admirals but only time will tell if Rask will make his return to the Hitmen or begin a professional career, something which seemingly wouldn’t surprise Williamson
“You know, Vic had a good mindset when he was here, he worked hard every day, he prepared himself, and he considers himself a Hitmen, but at the same time, he’s there to make a hockey team and start his pro career. That’s the mindset that we want all of our players to have.”
After sitting out the first two games of the regular season to prepare for his first AHL camp, Williamson knows Rask could soon return to the club and continue to grow and develop before another shot next year or not.
“We’ll see where things fall and anything can happen. If he does stick, if he does start that pro career, that’s why he was here last year and that’s why we’re here,” says Williamson. “It’s all part of the process.”