WHL NOTEBOOK: Liwiski making most of final WHL season

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This article was published 05/04/2022 (1437 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the age of the pandemic, Mark Liwiski has developed a coping strategy that might just work for everyone.

The 20-year-old Kelowna Rockets forward from Dauphin lost the chance to play in the 2020 Memorial Cup after it was cancelled, and the Rockets only played 16 games in his 19-year-old season. The twin blows taught him how to roll with the punches.

“I can’t say it hasn’t been tough with everything going on,” Liwiski said. “You never know what can happen the next day. You just have to enjoy the moment and enjoy every day that you’re playing, and mentally you have to stay tough and get ready to adapt, because that’s what the world is now, adapting with everything changing daily.”

His game has certainly adapted too, but Liwiski has shown flashes of the player he has become in his overage season since he was a youngster.

In just 35 games in his bantam draft year with the Parkland Rangers, he scored 39 goals, added 52 assists and drew 114 penalty minutes. A year later in the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League in 2016-17, he scored 25 goals and adding 29 assists with 121 penalty minutes in 37 games as a rookie to finish ninth in league scoring.

Liwiski was originally drafted by the Everett Silvertips in the third round of the 2016 draft and debuted with the club as a 16-year-old during the 2017-18 season, while spending most of the campaign with the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s OCN Blizzard. Liwiski was traded to the Rockets on June 18, 2018 for a third-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft that Everett used to select forward Ben Hemmerling.

In his first full season in 2018-19, Liwiski scored 11 goals and added six assists with 81 penalty minutes in 60 games. In the 2019-20 campaign, which was paused and later cancelled in March, he had eight goals and 11 assists with 93 penalty minutes in 55 games as an 18-year-old.

Kelowna played just 16 games in the spring of 2021, and Liwiski showed signs of the offensive ability he displayed with Parkland when he had nine goals and five assists to go with 41 penalty minutes to finish third team scoring.

He had a good summer of training under his belt when camp started — Liwiski worked at the Okanagan Golf club while training with Dynamic Edge — but a lower-body injury knocked him out of the pre-season.

To make matters even worse, he was in a four-way battle for three spots along with goaltender Cole Schwebius and defencemen Jake Lee and Tyson Feist.

“I wouldn’t lie and say I wasn’t worried about that,” Liwiski said. “I think I knew mentally that I would get back to where I was and I knew what I was capable of this year. I think that was a wake-up call.”

He returned to the lineup on Oct. 9, and five days later Schwebius was released. Liwiski said it certainly wasn’t an easy situation but it’s not unusual in the hockey world.

“I think it’s a good challenge,” Liwiski said. “It’s not going to get easier as you work your way up to the next level. It’s obviously friendly competition, we’re friends off the ice, but when you’re on the ice you’re battling for a spot and a job. You want to make sure you bring your ‘A’ game.”

This season, he has responded by setting career highs across the board, with 21 goals, 19 assists, 40 points and 97 penalty minutes.

“I want to show everything I can do on the ice in a little package,” Liwiski said. “If I’m not doing one of the things — like if I’m not scoring — I can bring that physicality element to the game. If I am, I bring every element that I can.”

In an interesting special teams static that reflects what the Rockets need from him, he has one power-play goal but has scored twice short-handed. He also has four game-opening goals.

The six-foot-one, 193-pound forward skates on a line with Colton Dach and Jake Poole from McAuley.

“I love Pooler,” Liwiski said. “He’s another Manitoba boy like I am. I grew up playing against him when I was younger. He’s always been a good player and I’m happy that I get to play on a line with him. He knows where I’m going to be and I think we’ve developed a good chemistry.

“I think it might be because we’re both from Manitoba. He’s a great guy. I can’t explain how much I wouldn’t be where I am without my linemates.”

The trio has combined for 195 penalty minutes and 135 points, with eight game-winning goals and a combined plus-minus rating of 33.

“We’re all pretty physically dominant out there, Colton at centre and Pooler on right wing,” Liwiski said. “We’re going to be leaning on each other, especially at the end of the year going into the playoffs. We’re a powerful line that can score and dominate. I think we have all the tools to do it, we just have to bring it every night.”

Kelowna (37-19-1-5) sits in fifth place in the Western Conference, six points back of the Seattle Thunderbirds with two games in hand. He’s happy they have a playoff spot, but is still looking for more.

At the same time, he’s starting to reflect on the passage of time, which has gone a little more quickly than he might have hoped since making his regular season debut on Sept. 23, 2017 with Everett. He actually spent time with the Silvertips after he signed his standard players agreement on March 24, 2017 and they called him up for the 2017 playoffs. He didn’t see any action.

“It wasn’t too long ago that I was getting called up as a black ace,” Liwiski said. “It’s crazy to think about but that’s how it is in hockey and that’s how it is in life. You just have to be able to adjust.”

His time in the league was reflected in an impressive milestone last night.

Liwiski played in his 200th game in Prince George against the Cougars, which is a particularly impressive number in light of all the hockey he lost to COVID.

“Obviously I’m happy about it,” Liwiski said on Sunday. “It could have been a few more games played if it wasn’t for our shortened season but I appreciate every game I play. I love the game and I love going out there and battling for my team. That will be a pretty special moment … It’s too bad it wasn’t in Kelowna.”

Liwiski’s parents David and Nicole live in Dauphin, while his older brother Andrew just finished his second season with the Division III Northland College in Ashland, Wis., along with fellow Dauphin product Daniel Chartrand.

The two brothers text every day and chat at least once a week.

While Liwiski is understandably focused on the hockey that lies ahead of him, he’ll soon be facing a major decision. He has five years of scholarship money available to him, but also a burning desire to take his game to the professional level.

“I would be lying to you if I said I wasn’t thinking about that,” said Liwiski, while acknowledging school is a good option too. “I want to take my game to the next level and I think I can do that. I just have to work for everything and earn it.”

Regardless of where his future takes him, he’s had a hockey experience to remember. Liwiski said he’ll never forget his time in the WHL.

“The relationships and how important the community is and the relationships you have with fans and billets too, that will last a lifetime,” Liwiski said. “I consider Kelowna a second home now and I’ll be here in the summer training now. It’s a pretty good experience. I would recommend it for everyone.

“It’s the best hockey league for major junior in the world.”