WHL NOTEBOOK: Thorpe grabs hold of new opportunity

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This article was published 05/01/2022 (1538 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of Kelly McCrimmon’s mantras is that opportunity is never enough: A player has to be ready to capitalize on it.

Ty Thorpe is living proof.

After three years with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Thorpe asked for a trade following last season. On Aug. 12, he was shipped to the Vancouver Giants for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2023.

“I think it was time for a change,” Thorpe said. “My game had come a long way and I was able to just get into this really perfect situation and take advantage of it and run with it. When you get an opportunity, you have to be ready to take advantage of it or it won’t work. Something that’s super important, is that when that shot comes, you have to be ready for it.”

There are certainly no hard feelings on either side. Thorpe speaks as highly of Wheat Kings general manager Doug Gasper as Gasper does of him.

“Doug is a really nice guy,” Thorpe said. “I’m really grateful for him and what he did obviously. He did a kind gesture to get me here in such a good spot. I’ll be forever grateful to him.”

Thorpe was originally taken 54th overall in the third round of the 2017 WHL bantam draft by the Victoria Royals.

However, he and his former Wheat Kings teammate Jonny Lambos were involved in a blockbuster deal on Jan. 10, 2018 when Brandon sent captain Tanner Kaspick and prospect Cameron MacDonald to Victoria. Along with the two young players, Brandon also received a first-round pick in 2019, which was bundled in a second deal and eventually became forward Nate Danielson, and a 2021 first-rounder that turned into young defensive prospect Charlie Elick.

When Thorpe approached Gasper about a deal, he had a grander vision than just the sport.

“It’s been a really good experience,” Thorpe said. “The trade was more than just hockey in my eyes. It wasn’t just looking to find more opportunity or be seen in a different light. I wanted to move away from home and have this new experience. It’s been an adjustment but it’s been really good. Everyone has been welcoming. 

“I feel this sense of maturity not being home anymore and being in a different city on my own in a way. That’s been a really cool experience for me.”

It’s certainly worked out on every front.

Incredibly, Thorpe has matched the 10 goals he scored in 136 games in Brandon in just 29 games in Vancouver.

He said there’s a lot of reasons for his offensive output, including confidence and experience.

“Being an older player in the league and having more confidence means you play better and get more opportunities,” Thorpe said. “Those things sort of reinforce one another so I would say it’s both. I was really fortunate with the situation coming in. I had a good camp and have been fortunate to play with really good players. Coming into your fourth year in the league, you’ve kind of seen it all and know what to expect. You have that confidence to make plays and are not afraid to make mistakes.”

He’s played centre this season, usually on a line with Giants leading scorer Justin Sourdif and Swedish import Fabian Lysell that groups the team’s three top scorers.

Vancouver has been beset by injuries of late, however, with the other two both missing time, so Thorpe has played with a variety of guys.

Thorpe has earned a bevy of special teams play, finding a spot on the first unit power play and doing a lot of penalty killing. As a result, he’s playing 25 to 28 minutes a night.

Thorpe was a big points producer earlier in his career — he had 30 goals and 40 assists in 36 games in his minor bantam season with the U15 AAA Wheat Kings — but was cast in more of a defensive role in the WHL.

In his 16-year-old season in 2018-19, Thorpe scored once and added five assists in 55 games, and contributed six goals and 12 assists in 60 games in his 17-year-old campaign in 2019-20. 

In the Regina hub last season, he produced three goals and three assists with 17 penalty minutes in 21 games.

He understands why he had to focus on defence in Brandon, and said it took time to find his offensive game again.

“I think there’s definitely a transition that comes with confidence,” Thorpe said. “… All the way growing up you can produce, but once you get to this level, you start out in a defensive role or you don’t get as much opportunity and maybe you don’t have as much leeway to take chances offensively. 

“You have to find that again, but for me, it was always there, but I’ve also trained really hard in the summer and worked on trying to bring that back. A lot of that, you unlock it when you develop that confidence and trust in yourself.”

He remains tight with Wheat Kings defenceman Vincent Iorio, who has billeted with the Thorpe family in Brandon and is from Coquitlam. Naturally the joke was that he should live with the Iorio family, but instead has gone to their house for meals, especially when his parents visit.

He said all the off-ice stuff has gone well too.

“It’s been phenomenal,” Thorpe said. “Vancouver is a beautiful city and the Giants are a really good organization … I’ve been really fortunate to come here. I have a great billet family, great teammates. It was an easier transition than I thought. I wasn’t sure what to expect going to a new team and not really knowing anybody and going to a new city across the country. Everyone was very welcoming and very nice to me.”

Thorpe has managed to keep in touch with many of his teammates. He went to watch Lynden McCallum play an American Hockey League game with the Henderson Silver nights against the Abbotsford Canucks, and he ran into injured forward Jake Chiasson at the game.

He also sees some familiar faces on the ice.

Jonny Lambos was sent to the Everett Silvertips on July 14 for a seventh-round pick in 2023 as Brandon addressed its overage situation. And in 2020, Jonny Hooker was dispatched to the Prince George Cougars for Thorpe’s former Brandon linemate, Reid Perepeluk. They usually chat after the game.

While Thorpe isn’t in his hometown anymore, the trade certainly hasn’t changed his feelings about it or the Wheat Kings.

“I’m really grateful for my time in Brandon and everyone there and everyone I got to meet,” Thorpe said. “It’s a great organization and obviously it’s home for me and will always be home. I’m really grateful that I’ve had this opportunity to come out here as well. 

“I’ll always miss it but it’s been a really good experience for me. It’s not that there hasn’t been ups and downs but I’ve been really fortunate and I’m really grateful for everything the Brandon Wheat Kings did for me.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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