Hoffrogge enjoys first WHL experience

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/04/2021 (1857 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon Wheat Kings vs Swift Current Broncos 

5 p.m. at Brandt Centre

4:30 p.m. (CKLQ): 5 p.m. (WHL Live)

 Record: 15-3-2-0, 32 points

Players to watch:

Ben McCartney (20gp, 12g, 19a, 31pts)

Ridly Greig (17gp, 9g, 18a, 27pts)

Nolan Ritchie (20gp, 8g, 14a, 22pts)

Goalies:

Ethan Kruger (10-2-1-0, 2.38 gaa, .913 pct)

Connor Ungar (5-1-0-0, 2.57 gaa, .915 pct)

Key injuries: None.

Power play: 29.5 per cent (5th in WHL)

Penalty killing: 76.3 per cent (14th in WHL)

Head to head vs. Swift Current: 3-0-0-0.

 

BRONCOS 

Record: 4-15-1-0, 9 points

Players to watch:

Michael Farren (20gp, 7g, 11a, 18pts)

Mathew Ward (19gp, 4g, 14a, 18pts)

Aiden Bulych (19gp, 5g, 10a, 15pts)

Goalies:

Isaac Poulter (2-11-1-0, 4.15 gaa, .879 pct)

Reid Dyck (2-4-0-0, 4.46 gaa, .878 pct)

Key injuries: Alex Moar, Raphael Pelletier, Carter Stebbings.

Power play: 13.2 per cent (20th in WHL)

Penalty killing: 68.1 per cent (20st in WHL)

Head to head vs. Brandon: 0-3-0-0.

 

Jacob Hoffrogge may have been a little late to the party in his rookie season with the Brandon Wheat Kings but he’s enjoying every minute of it anyway.

The Saskatoon product, who turned 18 in February, skated with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 in Saskatoon. The contact came just before the Wheat Kings met in the East Division hub in Regina on Feb. 28, and as a result, Hoffrogge entered the situation a little differently than his Western Hockey League teammates.

“I think I stayed three days in Saskatoon and then had to come here and quarantine four days after everyone started skating,” Hoffrogge said. “When I finally got onto the ice I felt really good. The guys here have been amazing. I don’t know if it’s me or the team, but I think I fit in really well with the guys. They’re all really nice and fun to be around.”

The five-foot-11, 155-pound defenceman, whose last name is pronounced Hof-FROGG-ee, was the third of Brandon’s second-round picks in 2018, along with his Wheat Kings teammate Brett Hyland and Dylan James, who chose the college route. First-rounder Jake Chiasson, and fifth-rounders Hammett and Jaxon Dube are also part of the club.

Hoffrogge has only seen action in four of the team’s 20 games, but the organization’s plan was to give him the experience to prepare him for next season.

Brandon brought eight defencemen to the hub, and tellingly, only draft-eligible Vincent Iorio has played all 20 games. Hoffrogge knew he wouldn’t play a lot, but would have the chance to soak in the WHL game.

“I’m just trying to make the best of every opportunity,” Hoffrogge said. “Obviously I knew I was not going to play as much. I didn’t know how it was going to be before, but even though I had to stay in my quarantine for longer, I was just thinking to myself every day that I have to work my butt off and make sure I don’t take any days off. When I get that opportunity, I have to make sure I take it.”

Hoffrogge’s best outing of the season came in his fourth game, Brandon’s 4-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday.

He was on the ice for Moose Jaw’s goal in the first period, but as the game progressed he displayed his offensive prowess with his first two shots on net and the ability to skate his way into the rush.

“I wanted Jacob to get a regular shift and I wanted him to be out against guys he would be comfortable against,” Wheat Kings head coach Don MacGillivray said. “Later in the game he was playing against their top line so it was a really good game for him to play in.

“We’ve said all along that this is a development season for him. I think he’s getting a feel for what it’s like.”

Hoffrogge certainly felt good on the ice. He agreed it was the best of his four games so far.

“The first three games I played, it’s not that I wasn’t confident, but I definitely felt like I was just trying to play mistake-free,” Hoffrogge said. “In this last game, I definitely came in with the mindset that I just needed to play my game. I wasn’t thinking that turnovers are fine but I was obviously trying … to play my game, which I like to play.”

It’s actually not the first hockey he played this season.

The smooth-skating defenceman skated with his hometown Saskatoon Contacts in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League at the start of the season as he awaited word on when the WHL would play.

“In December I didn’t know I was even going to play,” Hoffrogge said. “I didn’t want to stay in midget but I felt like that was what was going to happen because there was no announcement on when the WHL was starting. When I got the call or email saying we were going to get started, that obviously made my whole day.”

In 43 regular season games last season, Hoffrogge scored once and added 25 assists with 40 penalty minutes. At the prestigious Mac’s Tournament in Calgary, he collected three points in four games. The American-born youngster also played five games at the USA Select-16 tournament, garnering an assist.

Hoffrogge made his WHL season debut with the Wheat Kings on March 22 against the Saskatoon Blades, which has an explosive, swift-skating forwards corps that can capitalize on mistakes in a hurry. It was a daunting debut.

“It was definitely eye-opening,” Hoffrogge said.

Every step up in competition brings with it an accompanying rise in the attributes that set the best players apart. Hoffrogge noticed that immediately with WHL players.

“The size is crazy,” Hoffrogge said. “Before I got to the hub, I played six games with my midget team, and looking from there to here now, the size is so different. And I would definitely say the speed. I like to play fast but this is a whole new level of quickness, even in practice. The practices are way faster.

“And the smarts with most of the players is something to see.”

His grooming to become a WHL regular isn’t solely being done on the ice. It certainly wasn’t the luck of the draw that Hoffrogge and fellow rookie Logen Hammett ended up rooming with two of the Brandon’s top defencemen in team captain Braden Schneider and Chad Nychuk.

Hoffrogge has been especially struck by Schneider’s game preparations, and the demeanour from the New York Rangers first-round pick.

“It’s not even being a great hockey player, because he really is one,” Hoffrogge said. “Just the way he carries himself around, he’s not cocky at all. He’s humble and a great guy. I’ve actually learned a lot from him.”

Hoffrogge has enjoyed his time in the University of Regina’s Paskwaw Tower, where the four bedrooms in his pod are linked by a common kitchen and living room.

“They’re all great guys,” Hoffrogge said. “I played on a team with Logen before, Team Sask, so I’ve known him for a while, and I knew Braden and Chad because I was drafted here and came to camps. I’ve been with them at the last two camps but this is the first time I’ve been with them for a full season — I guess this really isn’t a full season — but they are great guys and I love being around them. They’re all pretty funny and they make me feel at home.”

Hoffrogge, who has been tagged “Frog” by his teammates, has also proven to be a well-liked member of the team’s cohort of eight rookies.

He said having that many players around who are going through what he is also proved to be a benefit.

“If I was the only rookie, I honestly don’t know how I would react to that,” Hoffrogge said. “I don’t know how I would act. Definitely, even having someone else in my room as a rookie — obviously I’m feeling comfortable with Braden and Chad — but I feel more comfortable with Logen because as a rookie, it feels better to maybe have someone my age … It feels even more at home with more rookies.”

The Grade 12 student devotes some of his spare time to his homework, and has caught up some Netflix shows and spent some time on his Xbox. He’s also watched movies with his roommates and other teammates.

Hoffrogge packed heavily, in part because he had no idea how long he would be in quarantine in his own dorm room.

“I brought a lot of food but I’ve managed to actually eat most of it,” Hoffrogge said. “That’s good.”

He’s also had a pair of care packages from home, including some well-received Easter treats packed by his mom.

Unfortunately for Hoffrogge and his teammates, the adventure ends in a week after they meet the Blades on April 28 in a game that could decide who emerges as division champion.

While the WHL announced on Monday that a league champion won’t be crowned this season, Hoffrogge said his teammates remain focused on playing their best.

“The way they act in the dressing room, they want to win every night,” Hoffrogge said. “This year there are no playoffs but I don’t think we all knew that and were just trying to play for bragging rights and to see who was the best. All of us in the room know we’re the best and we want to win all the time. That definitely kept us motivated.

“I don’t think there was one day when my teammates were saying ‘Oh, I don’t want to be here, why am I here?’ They were always motivated.”

After the season ends, Hoffrogge will return to Saskatoon a different player. He’s intent on getting faster and bigger in the summer to prepare for next season. While he may not have seen as much action as he may have hoped, he certainly has no complaints.

“Honestly, I’ve enjoyed this experience a lot,” Hoffrogge said. “I can’t really ask for any more.” 

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson