It’s an incredibly rare feat for a 16-year-old to score 20 goals in the WHL. Some of the best players in the league any given year didn’t even play in the WHL at 16, never mind in a scoring role. But even though he hit that impressive number as a 16-year-old rookie, Chase Surkan is nowhere near satisfied.
For one thing, the Regina-born forward got an extra dose of motivation when he was one of the final players cut from Canada’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup team, even though he scored the game-winning goal in the pre-tournament game he played. Though the Hlinka Gretzky Cup squad is one of the hardest to make every year, missing the cut gave Surkan even more drive.
“I thought I had a great camp, but obviously it wasn’t the ending I’d hoped for,” said Surkan. “I had hoped to be on the team, but now you use that as fire, trying to prove them wrong throughout the season and using that as motivation.”
For another, Surkan enters a year of importance for him personally. Like many of his teammates, he’s going into his first year of eligibility for the NHL entry draft. The fact that so many of his teammates are going through the same thing is helpful for all of them, but it also highlights the fact that the Wheat Kings have a lot of guys worthy of NHL eyes.
“It shows how the development is here in Brandon,” said Surkan. “They develop players to be drafted and to end up playing in the NHL. That’s what it’s a huge honour for me to be able to play in Brandon and develop into the player I can be.”
That’s where the third, and most important motivational factor comes into play. This year’s Wheat Kings’ team is loaded with potential at all positions, including up front where Surkan is one piece of what promises to be a multi-faceted attack.
“We have tons of talent,” Surkan said. “We’re going to have a lot of depth this year throughout our lineup. That’s a huge thing to have in this league, and I think it will pay off.”
To that end, Surkan spent his offseason getting faster and working on his strength to help uphold his role in that depth. It turned out to be helpful right away, as training camp proved to be the most intense of his three camps with the Wheat Kings so far. But he was more than ready for the pace, finishing camp with a four-point performance in the Black and Gold Game at J&G Homes Arena on Sunday night.
“Being an older guy you can adjust to the speed, but overall it’s been a lot faster paced,” Surkan said. “I think us older guys set the tone coming into camp on how we wanted to play.”
The preseason opens for the Wheat Kings on Friday night when they host the Regina Pats. Puck drop is 7:00 PM. The next night, the Wheat Kings and Pats meet for a neutral site rematch in Ochapowace.
