Sundher still settling in

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/02/2012 (5195 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Those disappointed in Kevin Sundher’s body of work as a Brandon Wheat King so far can find an ally in the player himself.

Acquired by the Wheat Kings from the Victoria Royals in a blockbuster deal one day before the Western Hockey League trade deadline, Sundher was supposed to be the spark that would ignite Brandon’s smouldering offence.

Instead, a player who had 64 points in 40 games at the time of the trade has produced only two goals and four assists in 11 contests since the deal, with a ghastly plus/minus of -10.

The 19-year-old from Surrey, B.C., remains confident, however, and he believes a breakthrough is just around the corner.

“It definitely is an adjustment, more than I even had expected,” he said. “I just thought I’d come in here and things would be great, but it has been a little bit of an adjustment. Obviously, it’s a culture change. I’ve never lived anywhere near out here, so it’s a lot different, but I am starting to get used to it. A couple weeks makes a huge difference. I’m feeling a lot more comfortable in the situation and I’m starting to get healthier now. … It’s been frustrating, no doubt about it so far, but I’m optimistic.”

Sundher has shown flashes of the speed and skill that made him such a hot commodity at the trade deadline and a third-round draft choice of the National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres in 2010.

He scored the only goal of Brandon’s 1-0 road victory over the Kootenay Ice last week, then scored again in the next game. He’s also set up a couple of goals with the pinpoint passing that allowed him to average more than an assist per game with the Royals this season.

Wheat Kings head coach Cory Clouston said Sundher has been under the weather virtually since the day he got to Brandon. Sundher’s 11 games came in the next 18 days following his arrival and Clouston took advantage of a short respite in the team’s schedule this week to give the 6-foot-0, 192-pound centre some much needed rest.

“His speed is one of his best assets and I think because of his health issues, he hasn’t been able to go out there and play the way that we know he’s capable of playing,” Clouston said. “I think there’s a little bit of frustration for him, but I think after these last couple of days, I think most of that will be cleared up and he should be ready to be 100 per cent, or as close to 100 per cent as he can be, for the weekend.”

In fact, with the Wheat Kings not playing again until they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday (7:30 p.m., Westman Place), Sundher was one of several players to get a little break following the club’s 3-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday night that gave Brandon a 2-2 record on its road trip.

“We have some illness going through the team, so I think we only had seven healthy forwards practise (Tuesday),” said Clouston, whose team sits eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 25-24-1-2 record. “It’s kinda the nature of the beast and it’s what happens when you play four games in five nights and do the travel that we do. Sometimes you don’t realize that these guys are battling flu and sickness and ailments and this has been a real good week.

“We can give the guys who need it a few days off and what we’re looking forward to now is the next two days of practice where we’re going to have hopefully all healthy bodies on deck and hopefully have a couple good practices.”

» rhenders@brandonsun.com