Fearless Wallace makes an outsized impact

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/08/2019 (2456 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They can measure a lot of things in hockey, but quantifying desire remains elusive.

And while Hunter Wallace may lack in one category, he certainly makes up for it in another. At five-foot-six and 132 pounds, the listed Brandon Wheat Kings prospect from Oak Lake finds a way to be around the puck and making plays virtually every time he’s on the ice.

“I think the biggest thing is just not to play scared,” Wallace said after the first scrimmage of main camp on Friday morning. “It’s what I play with every game. I think it’s just easier for me to play fearless than be scared and just not make good plays.”

Wallace, 16, first skated around age six or seven at Oak Lake. He started hockey as a defenceman, moving up front after two seasons when he began playing in nearby Virden.

Wallace, who also played high school baseball this year, made the transition to under-18 hockey last season with the Southwest Cougars when he moved up from bantam. He never lost a step, scoring 14 goals and adding 15 assists in 40 games.

“It’s a lot faster,” Wallace said. “You don’t have much time with the puck so you have to move it quicker. It’s a lot more fun too. It’s pretty good.”

Wallace was consistently good in the Western Hockey League club’s rookie camp, but on Friday morning main camp opened, with an accompanying difference in speed and skill level.

Wallace said he took the first couple of shifts just to get a sense of how the game was being played, and then did what he does best.

“I try to stick to the same game plan,” Wallace said. “It’s a lot bigger and faster guys but I just try to keep up and play my game.”

Wheat Kings general manager Darren Ritchie has some experience with smaller players. He admires what Wallace brings to the ice, comparing him to a former Wheat King who now plays for the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche.

“He’s always around the puck,” Ritchie said of Wallace. “He’s competitive, has good hockey sense, goes to the hard areas, goes to the net and he knows how to score. For a little guy, he understands where he has to get to be successful, and he’s a competitive guy. That’s what you want in a smallish player.

“I was lucky enough to coach Matt Calvert when he was a midget player. Matty wasn’t even 100 pounds and he did a lot of those same things that Hunter does as well.”

Wallace, whose parents are Tod and Penny, grew up on the family farm, which is a combined grain and cattle operation. He says with a chuckle that he has gotten stronger lifting bails. He has targeted that, along with increasing his skating speed, as the major items on his to-do list.

He ponders for a moment when asked about his strengths.

“Probably my speed, and I’m kind of a smart player,” Wallace said.

Wallace was an outstanding bantam player, scoring 23 goals and adding 14 assists in 34 games in his second season. He thinks he’s continued to improve.

“I think I’m a bit better than last year, faster,” Wallace said. “I trained pretty hard this summer.”

His plan, if he doesn’t make a somewhat unlikely jump to the Wheat Kings this season, is to join the Virden Oil Capitals of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League in their camp.

He also has two years of U18 eligibility remaining with the Cougars, which is perhaps his most likely destination.

“I just want to try and be a leader on that team and a role model for the younger guys,” Wallace said.

It’s a solid goal for a youngster who the play seems to follow. When asked why he seems to spend so much time around the puck, just like on the ice, Wallace doesn’t hesitate.

“I kind of look for it, and if it pops out to me, I’m going for it right away.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson