Sometimes it takes young players, even ultra-talented ones used to piling up goals, a little time to adjust to life in the WHL. When they settle in, however, they start to show the offensive gifts that got them on WHL radars in the first place.
Such is the case with Brandon Wheat Kings forward Brady Turko, who seems to have found another gear offensively in the last month or so. Dating back to a game against the Regina Pats on November 15, Turko has ten points in his last nine games, highlighted by a three point game against the Edmonton Oil Kings on December 1.
“It’s obviously a confidence booster when you get on the board like that,” he said. “It was great to finally have a night like that, I’ve been looking for one like that for a while. It’s good to finally get that, it was great for me personally.”
The game against Edmonton, which started the Wheat Kings on a three-game winning streak, might’ve been the headliner for Turko as he finished with two goals and an assist, but the elevated confidence was on display before that. He picked up a pair of primary assists against the Medicine Hat Tigers earlier in the trip, and scored his first of the season on home ice the game before against the Swift Current Broncos.
“For me, we know he has the skillset but I thought he was really engaged on his 50/50 pucks and winning his battles,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “He got rewarded (in Edmonton) for his hard work.”
It’s not just the goals Turko is getting, either, but the way he’s scoring them that would seem to indicate a breakout is in the works. He scored a beauty of a breakaway goal against the Prince Albert Raiders, and against the Oil Kings his two goals were wicked releases, especially his second goal where he took a feed from Jaxon Jacobson immediately off a faceoff.
“I can remember so many from midget and U15, plays exactly like that,” said Turko. “Last year, there was one where we lost the draw but Jax beat the guy to the puck and fed it right out to me in the slot. Our connection like that, him knowing that I was going to be there, it’s great between us and certainly something we’ve done before.”
The Wheat Kings have outscored their opponents 17-5 on their recent three-game winning streak, so Turko is not the only player turning it up offensively. He’s found another level to his offense at a time where several of his teammates seem to be doing the same.
“At the start of the season, games were kind of getting a little bit where things weren’t going our way and it felt like things weren’t going in for us,” Turko said. “The weekend before, you started to see us potting lots. Seeing guys starting to score is great for our team.”
The Wheat Kings will travel to Saskatchewan this week for games against the Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades.
