Aucoin lights up bantam scoring
While Airdrie’s Ty Rattie is busy helping the Portland Winterhawks to the best record in the Western Hockey League, his name keeps coming up in conversations about his alma mater — the Alberta Major Bantam AAA Hockey League.
Earlier this month it was on the subject of Edmonton phenom Tyler Benson, who broke Rattie’s AMBHL record for points, officially finishing the regular season on Sunday with 146 points in 33 games (Rattie had 131 points in 2007-08 with the Airdrie X-treme).
Now it’s on the topic of Parker Aucoin, a local sniper who just capped off a campaign for the Calgary Northstar Sabres where he netted 63 goals in 33 games. It’s the second-highest goal total in league history behind — you guessed it — Mr. Rattie, who tallied 75 in that aforementioned season. Aucoin also had six more goals than Benson, the kid that some are saying should be the first allowed to compete in the WHL as a 15-year-old under the exceptional player status rule.
“I’ve watched Benson play and I truly believe Parker is a more talented scorer,” said Northstar Sabres head coach Matt Keillor, “but Benson, away from the puck, the things he does … he’s definitely mature for his age. (Parker’s) just a pure scorer.
“I’ve coached at this level for four years and I’ve never seen a natural scorer like him.”
If there will be a knock on Aucoin come WHL Bantam Draft time in the spring, it will be if scouts question whether he can play enough defence to be a junior hockey star. Then again, anyone who can score like that seems certain to be headed for the draft’s first round, perhaps even the top 10.
“He finds the open ice and he shoots like a junior player for 14 years old,” described Keillor.
“I’ve talked to multiple scouts,” he added. “We expect him to be a first-round draft pick.”
Working in Aucoin’s favour is a rare maturity level. When I interviewed the 14-year-old, it was as if I was talking to a seasoned NHL pro. He deflected praise, tossed flowers at the opposition and credited teammates with his success. He said he couldn’t have had the season he had without linemate Brayden Dunn, who notched 53 points, including 29 assists.
“I had the opportunity to play with some great players,” Aucoin said. “I had a really fun year. The coaches gave me some great opportunities.”
Keillor confirmed that attitude is no show.
“When he got his 62nd goal and became second alltime, the first thing he did was thank his teammates,” he said. “That shows the character he has.”
When pressed, Aucoin acknowledged the feat of going into the AMBHL record books.
“It’s a big accomplishment for me. I never thought at the beginning of the season I’d get anywhere close to that. Ty Rattie’s an awesome hockey player. To be second to him is a big accomplishment.”
The breakout season didn’t begin right away for Aucoin. As one of three returning players on the Northstar Sabres, he was coming in off a 15-goal, 37-point campaign the year previous. Keillor remembers sitting down with his captain about halfway through this season.
“At the midway point of the season, he was just over a goal a game and was 18th (in league scoring),” the coach recalled. “We brought it to his attention: ‘Do you think there are 17 scorers better than you in this league?’ ”
That seemed to light a fire as he proceeded to score 40 in his final 15 games, including, according to Keillor, a couple of six-goal nights.
So the draft and his future await, but for Aucoin, there is more pressing business.
“The draft is a big thing, but I’m really trying to focus on having a good playoff and helping us get out of the first round,” said Aucoin, whose squad will open the AMBHL playoffs against the Calgary Royals in the Challenger South Division semifinals (Wednesday, 7 p.m., Don Hartman). The top-ranked Calgary Bisons will host the Calgary Flames in the other best-of-three semi (Game 1 is Tuesday, 7:45 p.m., South Fish Creek).
In typical fashion, Aucoin said all the right things about his opposition.
“We were 1-4 against them this year,” he grimaced. “The coach of the Royals is great, the players are great. We’re going to have to be at our best and get some big goals.”
They’ve got just the guy in their stable for that.
WHL NOTES ... Two members of the Canadian Hockey League’s No. 1 team, the Portland Winterhawks, have cracked the 100-point barrier following Monday’s 8-3 win over Vancouver. Brendan Leipsic leads the WHL with 40 goals and 101 points, while Nicolas Petan has 40 goals and 100 points. After a four-goal day on Monday, Rattie is fourth in WHL scoring with 35 goals and 86 points, despite missing nine games, eight of them due to the World Juniors
... The Saskatoon Blades, who will host the Memorial Cup this spring, are the hottest team in the league with eight straight wins, a streak which includes a 6-0 win over Calgary on Feb. 1. The Blades drew a crowd of 12,588 for Saturday’s 5-2 win over Lethbridge, which broke a 23-year-old franchise attendance record
… Despite the Blades’ hot streak, the Calgary Hitmen remain 11 points ahead in the race for third in the Eastern Conference.
They will play at TriCity on Tuesday (8:05 p.m., SN 960) and Spokane on Wednesday (8:05 p.m.) before returning home from an epic nine-game road trip to host Victoria on Saturday (7 p.m., Dome, SN 960).