You couldn’t really call Jordan Gavin’s performance against the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday, November 22 a “coming out party”. The 19-year-old Surrey native had a hat trick less than a month earlier and has been playing consistently solid hockey all season long.
Still, there was something different about that outing at the SaskTel Centre, perhaps the clearest sign yet that Gavin is finding new levels to his game in Brandon. Perhaps the best summary of that contest came from Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray.
“I told the guys after the game I thought that was his (Gavin’s) best game as a Wheat King,” Murray said. “I thought he was all over it.”
A quick look at the stats sheet, which showed Gavin with two goals including the game winner and an assist for good measure, backs up Murray’s assessment, and yet it doesn’t tell anywhere close to the full story. To paint the complete picture, you’d have to start with the fact that the Wheat Kings came into that game missing two thirds of their top line as Jaxon Jacobson and Caleb Hadland missed the game due to injury, leaving Gavin in an even more important role than usual.
“Around the room, guys want to step up when those guys go down,” the 2006-born forward said. “Being an older guy, I felt like I needed to step my game up even more and that was kind of the read around the room. A lot of guys stepped up on Saturday.”
To keep painting the picture, you might look at the goals themselves. Both goals were play-of-the-week worthy, with the first one coming on a top-shelf backhand shot from the right circle. The second, however, probably encapsulates Gavin’s growth the best of the two. Seeing a lane up the middle, he used his speed to split the defense and his hands to dodge stick checks all the way until he was in the clear enough to let his shot go. It was a beautiful goal, one directly related to Gavin’s offseason efforts to add quickness to his game.
“I’ve been moving a lot quicker this year and that was my main focus in the offseason,” said Gavin. “When I got that opportunity to turn on the jets I did, and I felt like I had a lot more separation than maybe I would’ve had last year. I’m definitely happy with my skating this year.”
And then there was his play on the other side of the puck. With the Wheat Kings up 3-2 entering the third period, Gavin was among the veterans relied on to help preserve the lead, and among the penalty killers who had a heavy workload in the third. The team went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and left Saskatoon with the victory.
“The goals and assists are obvious but he’s so smart and you can just rely on him in every situation,” said Murray. “We’re thrilled he’s on our team.”
From the start of the season to present, it feels like Gavin has found a new level several times over, and the game against Saskatoon was just the latest and newest height. He’s matched his point total with the Wheat Kings following his trade from Tri-City last season in 11 fewer games and has more goals in that same time frame.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that Gavin’s rise mirrors the team’s. After an 0-4-1 start, the Wheat Kings have gone 11-6-0 since then, and they’re 8-4-0 in their last 12 games. In those 12 games, Gavin has seven goals and 18 points.
“Being down early (in the standings), that’s not what we wanted, so having belief as a group we turned our mindset around,” Gavin said. “I think we’ve been playing some pretty good hockey as of late so now we just need to continue on this path.”
The path continues for the Wheat Kings on Friday night, when they host the Prince Albert Raiders at 7:00.
