The NHL is full of success stories of players who were not taken in the entry draft but who played their way into long professional careers despite not hearing their names called on the big day.
Brandon Wheat Kings forward Jordan Gavin hadn’t planned on being one of those stories. But when his name wasn’t called on draft day, he became determined to be yet another example of why the draft is not the be-all-end-all of a player’s future.
“I watched it a little bit with my family and obviously it was a little disappointing not to hear my name called,” Gavin said. “But I think it’s just more motivation for me heading into the season. Something I’m really looking forward to is proving people wrong and having a big year this year.”
Gavin had plenty of reason to believe he’d be selected. The 5-foot-11 Surrey Native had just put up his third straight season over 50 points in the WHL and was a former second overall pick in 2021. But once he didn’t hear his name called, he got right to work, with getting faster being one of his main priorities.
“I’ve been working out and skating a lot,” said Gavin. “I’ve been doing some sprinting stuff this offseason, it’s a bit of a new approach for me. I’m trying to develop my first three steps and overall speed. I think sprinting has really helped me over the summer.”
The highly-skilled forward will have every opportunity to show off his newly revamped speed. Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray singled him out as a player to step up and help replace departed forward Roger McQueen, and as a fourth year player with multiple offensively productive seasons under his belt, the expectation is he would score more regardless.
“Especially as an older guy, my standards have risen,” Gavin said. “I really want to have a bigger year. I’ll be one of the older guys in the league this year so I think I’ll have that experience. And the league, I feel like it’s getting younger with all the guys heading off to college. For me, I have high expectations for myself this year and hopefully we as a team can go out and win a championship this year.”
To be clear, Gavin didn’t leave the Wheat Kings wanting last season, posting 27 points in 33 games after the trade from Tri-City that saw Merrek Arpin come with him and Charlie Elick go the other way. The trade, the week of the January 9 trade deadline, did mean a major adjustment for him, however.
“Right when I got into the airport in Winnipeg there was this really big gust of wind and it was freezing, which was pretty funny,” he said with a chuckle. “Being really far from home and farther from where I was in Tri City was definitely different. Playing teams in a different conference is a change too, I’m playing against teams I’m not really used to. But as time went on, I got used to it and I’m feeling good heading into this year.”
That’s why the approaching training camp is such a big moment for a player who, otherwise, could maybe find training camp a bit old hat by this point in his career. Last season, forward Nick Johnson took a massive step forward offensively after getting a full camp to acclimate to Brandon. Gavin will look to make a similar jump in his first training camp in Black and Gold.
“It’ll be huge,” said Gavin. “Coming in midway through the year was a bit tough, starting fresh midseason. Coming into camp and really meshing with the guys early on is going to be good for me. Being able to start and finish in Brandon will be big for me.”
Both the Wheat Kings and Gavin are hoping he’s right, because the 2006-born forward represents a huge part of a Wheat Kings attack that, despite the loss of McQueen, still looks formidable. The players have noticed the mood around the team and the actions of the team brass, and now the job is to reward the faith they’ve been shown.
“Based off the moves we made this offseason, management is all in,” Gavin said. “As players, we’re all in as well. We know we have a really good group coming in this year. Last year I felt we had a really good year, but there is so much more. We had a younger team last year so I think a lot of guys are really going to take a step this year and hopefully win us a championship.”
Gavin added he’s going to spend the last two weeks or so before training camp continuing work on his conditioning and on-ice skills, as well as spending time with family before he leaves for Brandon.
