Spring time is here which means it's playoff season for the local Cochrane hockey stars which started off with the Western Hockey League (WHL) playoffs starting on March 22.
Cochrane is well represented in the 'Dub' with two players showing off their skills with hopes of eventually meeting at some point during the post season. Seattle Thunderbirds defenceman Tyrel Bauer is getting his first taste of playoff action at the junior level, after suiting up for 64 games in the regular season where he registered two goals and 12 assists for 14 points in those games as a 16-year-old. The young defenceman, who was selected in the second round of the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft by Seattle and signed a Standard Player Agreement with the team on Jun. 14 of last year, spent last season with the Airdrie CFR AAA Bisons where he scored three goals and eight assists for 11 points in 32 games.
"It's been awesome so far. The level of hockey just seems to intensify even more. The older guys have been great in leading by example, showing us how to step up our game in order to be effective in such a competitive environment," Bauer said of his first taste of playoff action in the WHL. "After all, it is do or die and you only have seven games. You must be mentally sharp for a battle every night and you can't afford to take a game, period or even a shift off. Overall it's been a great learning experience, helping me deal with pressure and improve my game a little bit at a time. Not to mention it's super fun playing in that type of atmosphere."
Bauer and the Thunderbirds have tough battle ahead of them with the Western Conference's leading Vancouver Giants as the series is currently knotted at 1-1. Vancouver took the first game 7-1 on March 22 before Seattle came back the next day to take Game 2 by a 4-1 score. Bauer had an assist in Game 2.
Also in the Western Conference is 17-year-old Connor Bouchard. Coming off his first season in the Western Hockey League with the Tri-City Americans where he posted two goals and six assists for eight points in 60 games, while the young forward posted two goals and six assists while adding one assist in 14 playoff games as the Americans qualified for the third round of the playoffs last season. The National Hockey League (NHL) draft-eligible prospect bumped those totals up to seven goals and 31 points in 68 games this season while going pointless in two playoff games against the Everett Silvertips. the Americans will be looking to fight back from being down 2-0 in their series after losing 6-1 and 4-3 in the first two games.
In the American Hockey League (AHL) Cochrane has three could-be NHLers that are proving their worth at the minor league level in Dillon Dubé, Justin Dowling and Tyler Wong.
Dubé started the year with the Calgary Flames, suiting up for 23 games where he scored his first NHL goal and added four assists before being sent down to the Stockton Heat. The Cochrane-born forward has since lit up the minor leagues, pouring in 15 goals and adding 24 assists for 39 points in 35 points including being named the AHL Player of the Week on March 11. During that week stretch, he had four goals, two of them being shorthanded tallies and added three assists in just three games.
Being able to find the score sheet isn't anything unusual for Dubé who regularly found the net in junior playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). During his time with the Kelowna Rockets, the Flames second round (56th overall) draft pick played in 203 WHL games, amassing 101 goals and 131 assists for 232 points. Those stats included the 38 goals and 84 points he posted in just 38 games last year with the club.
During his last year as a junior, Dubè suited up as team captain for Team WHL during the CIBC Canada-Russia Series, where he tied a WHL record in points (two goals and three assists) and he is also the first Kelowna Rockets player to earn a spot on the Canadian World Junior team in back-to-back seasons. A season after coming home with a silver medal and finishing the tournament with three assists in seven games in 2017, he became the first player from the Kelowna Rockets to Captain Team Canada at the 2018 World Juniors in Buffalo, New York, this time helping the team to a gold medal. He had three goals and two assists in seven games that year.
While Stockton will likely miss the AHL playoffs, Dubè will almost certainly earn a call up to the Flames during their Stanley Cup playoff run.
Justin Dowling is having a career year with the Texas Stars, posting 13 goals and 40 assists for 53 points in 62 games in his first year as the Stars captain. During his time in Texas, Dowling has scored 88 goals while amassing 254 points in 380 AHL regular season games. Dowling has also helped the Stars win the Calder Cup as league champions in 2013-14 as well as making a league final appearance last season where the team fell in seven games to the Toronto Marlies. It was a successful playoff for him as he had 17 points in 22 games. Dowling also got called up to the NHL version of the Stars this season where he has spent the last three games on Dallas’ top line with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn where he had one assist in seven games. Dowling and the baby Stars are fighting for their playoff lives as they're tied with three other teams for the final playoff spot in the conference.
To round out the group is former Lethbridge Hurricane Tyler Wong who is toiling with the the Western Conference leading Chicago Wolves, where he's played 58 games which has resulted in five goals and eight assists for 13 points. After a 51 goal, 109 point campaign in his final season of junior with the Hurricanes, Wong signed a Professional Tryout Contract (PTO) with the Vegas Golden Knights and scored the team’s first franchise goal in a preseason game against the Vancouver Canucks on Sept. 17 of last year.
