WHL NOTEBOOK – Kubic trade brings St. Andrews product closer to home

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This article was published 15/11/2017 (3108 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Thrashers did a lot to prepare Ryan Kubic for life in the Western Hockey League.

That includes one of his former Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League teammates, who is well known to fans of the Brandon Wheat Kings.

“It was awesome,” the 19-year-old netminder from St. Andrews said. “I had a really great team. Nolan Patrick was on my team, obviously a really great player, a few other guys who have moved on to the WHL, Vince Loschiavo (Kootenay Ice). Playing in the Thrashers organization was great. They got me into a lot of games and we really had a good team and it definitely helped me to develop to play in the WHL.

Kubic played 21 games in that 2013-14 season, posting a gaudy save percentage of .947 and a goals-against average of just 1.40. Patrick, meanwhile, finished third in the league in scoring as a 15-year-old, with 33 goals and adding 30 assists in 39 games. (Interestingly, the two players who finished ahead of him in the scoring race were Brandonites Duncan Campbell and Jordy Stallard of the midget Wheat Kings.)

Kubic said it was apparent even then that Patrick was a unique talent.

“Absolutely,” he said. “You could tell. I think he was injured for part of the season but you could definitely tell. Growing up, I played (on the Winnipeg Bantam) Hawks with him and he was a special player.”

While Patrick would be selected fourth overall by Brandon in the 2013 WHL bantam draft, Kubic was taken by the Vancouver Giants in the second round, with the 39th overall pick.

Kubic made his Western Hockey League debut while he skated with the Thrashers, playing two games for the Giants. He manned the crease for just one game in his 16-year-old season, suiting up instead for the Brookings Blizzard in the North American Hockey League.

He also participated in the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Once Kubic finally landed his spot with the Giants in his 17-year-old season, Vancouver kept him busy. He appeared in a combined 106 games in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, recording five shutouts, a record of 32-58-7-5, an .895 save percentage and a 3.53 goals-against average.

He holds the franchise record for longest shutout streak and most career saves, was named the Giants rookie of the year in 2015-16, and in 2016-17 was the Giants’ players choice award winner, unsung hero and three stars award recipient.

His hockey life changed on Sept. 20, when the Giants shipped him to the Saskatoon Blades for a second-round pick in the 2019 WHL bantam draft.

Earlier that day, Saskatoon had sent overage goalie Logan Flodell to the Swift Current Broncos for a 2020 second-round pick and a 2019 fifth-rounder.

“It’s always a surprise when you get traded unless you want one,” Kubic said. “It was definitely a bit of a shock. For the first few weeks coming here it was a bit of an adjustment but it’s closer to home and the guys really welcomed me. It was pretty easy to get used to the place.”

Kubic certainly had a warm reception in Brandon when the Blades visited on Saturday to meet the Wheat Kings.

About 15 family and friends made the trip out to see him, including his parents, sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends.

“It was pretty awesome for them to come out and watch,” he said.

While the Blades lost 3-1 that night, Kubic has enjoyed a fine start with his new club. He has earned all of Saskatoon’s seven wins his season, including a 32-save effort in a 4-1 win over the Wheat Kings on Oct. 28. He has posted a goals-against average of 3.81 and an .875 save percentage.

“I think the sky is the limit with this group,” Kubic said. “We don’t have a lot of skill guys but we do have a lot of hard-working guys, and as long as we stick together and our chemistry keeps going the way it is, I think we’ll have a lot of success this year.”

TOP NODS: The Canadian Hockey League named Aleksi Heponiemi of the Swift Current Broncos as its CHL player of the week. The Florida Panthers prospect had nine points in two games, with two goals and seven assists. His linemate Tyler Steenbergen won the award in October.

BACK IN THE JAW: Brandonite Daemon Hunt has been called up by the Moose Jaw Warriors as they struggle with injuries on their blue-line, including to Manitobans Jett Woo and Josh Brook, who hasn’t played yet this season. They’re also without Dmitri Zaitsev and Matthew Benson.