If you need an example of just how quickly life can change in the world of junior hockey, you need look no further than newest member of the Brandon Wheat Kings, defenseman Daniil Skvortsov.
At the start of this season, the Russian-born Skvortsov was already playing thousands of miles from home with the Guelph Storm of the OHL. On Friday, November 7, he went even further west to join the Wheat Kings when Brandon claimed him on CHL Import Waivers. Less than a week into his tenure with his new team, the outgoing young defenseman seems to be settling in well.
“I like Brandon, I like my new teammates, they’re all pretty good guys,” Skvortsov said. “I played my first game in Lethbridge and everyone tried to support me and tried to teach me some new things. I like these teammates. I am ready to work.”
Skvortsov joined the Wheat Kings while they were on the road in Lethbridge, making a long journey from Ontario even longer. But Skvortsov made it rapidly, completing a trip of over 3000 kilometers in time to play the day after he was claimed.
“It was a little bit of hard travel for me because I flew at night to Calgary and I stayed for a night in Calgary and then came in to play in Lethbridge,” said Skvortsov. “My legs felt really heavy but I tried to do my best and to support this team.”
If you’re wondering why the Wheat Kings were so eager to get him into the lineup as soon as possible, his first two games with the team showed more than a little bit of the reason. The 6-foot-4 blueliner moves as well as a much smaller defenseman would be expected to, jumps up into the rush on occasion, and has some bite to his game.
“He was between a B and a C rated prospect for the NHL draft last year and I talked to a lot of guys who were surprised he didn’t get drafted,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “He has to round out certain areas of his game but there’s a lot to like. We didn’t have any 07 defensemen so he kind of fills that void a little bit.”
“I normally play like a two-way defenseman,” Skvortsov said. “I like to join the rush and I like to jump in offense, but defense is first for me. I like to hit guys and to fight if I need to. Defense is fun for me.”
Once Skvortsov and the Wheat Kings wrapped up their Alberta road trip with a win in Medicine Hat (in which Murray said he was especially impressed with his new defenseman), it was an eight-hour bus ride back to Brandon and then, after a day off, right back to work before a showdown with Red Deer. Despite the need for a rapid transition, Skvortsov has handled the adjustment well, owing in no small part to a friendly off-ice demeanor, a good sense of humor, and remarkably good English considering he spoke very little of the language when he arrived in Guelph last season.
“It’s not easy coming in on gameday and meeting your teammates for the first time,” Murray said, “but he’s got an outgoing personality and he’s fit in really well. We have such a good group of kids in our locker room that they’ve welcomed him with open arms. I think the transition has been pretty easy.”
On the ice, the transition has been eased by Skvortsov’s time in the OHL, in which he played 65 games over the past two seasons. Though the leagues are the same level of hockey, each has its own ins and outs, as Skvortsov is learning.
“It’s pretty similar but I think this league is heavier,” he said. “There are a lot more hits and a little more fights here, (which) I like because I am a D-man and I like to hit guys too.”
Skvortsov and the Wheat Kings will get a rematch with the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday, November 15 at ACU Place. Puck drop is 6:00 PM.
