From high school hockey in Minnesota to the WHL in Prince George, the learning curve was steep for Jared Bethune.
The game is a lot faster, the players are bigger and stronger, and seasons last 72 games, not 25. As a 17-year-old rookie in the league, Bethune made his share of mistakes.
Knowing he was already on the NHL Central Scouting watch list when he got to Prince George last October, Bethune expected to post better numbers in his debut season at left wing. He scored six goals, put up 20 points, had a plus-minus rating of -23, and like many junior prospects who dream of someday making a living playing pro hockey he suffered the disappointment of not getting drafted.
A phone call was all it took to snap Bethune out of his funk. It was the Minnesota Wild calling to invite him to their prospects camp. For the native of Fort Francis, Ont., who moved to Warroad, Minn., at age 13, that was like winning the lottery.
"I learned a lot last season and I sat around for the draft, not sure if I would go or not," said Bethune. "I was pretty excited to go to the Wild camp, especially considering I spent the last three summers down in Minneapolis to train. It was a pretty big honour to be there. I lived in Minnesota for five years and it's a second home to me. Warroad is kind of where I got noticed."
The Cougars were among several teams that had Bethune on their radar. After two seasons of high school hockey in Minnesota, he started out last season in the USHL and played six games for the Lincoln Stars before deciding to sign with the Cougars.
After skating with future pros at the Wild's prospects camp in July and playing well enough to earn an invite to Minnesota's rookie camp in September, and with 66 WHL games now on his resume, Bethune has brought back a confident attitude he will be a big part of the Cougars' success on the ice this season.
"Even off-ice it was a big adjustment for me (coming to Prince George) and I learned how to be a pro and act like a pro - it was a tough year but I Iearned a lot and I wouldn't change it for anything," he said. "I think I have a lot to prove this year and now that I have a year under my belt it should be completely different for me. I know what to expect and I'm pretty excited for the upcoming season will all the guys we have coming back."
Bethune's work ethic in the gym and his mom's home-cooking added eight pounds of muscle to a six-foot frame and he now tips the scales at 182 pounds. A fitness test revealed just 7.2 per cent of his body weight is fat. With the Cats' training camp beginning today, head coach Mark Holick has noticed the improvement in Bethune's overall fitness, which bodes well for the season.
"I think there's more there than he showed last year - coming out of high school to our level of play is a huge jump and I think it was maybe bigger than he thought," said Holick. "I know there were some days where he got discouraged but he never stopped working and he never stopped trying to get better. He was in the gym or doing extra after practice. If he played he did what he could and if he didn't play he had a lot of questions.
"He was a consummate team player and I thought if he had a good summer I thought he could come in and have a good year for us and in power skating sessions he's getting around the ice pretty good. He went to the Wild (prospects) camp and showed well enough to get invited back to their main camp."
LOOSE PUCKS: The Cougars have added 20-year-old goaltender Mack Shields to their training camp roster. Shields has been with the Calgary Hitmen the past three seasons and was in net for 49 regular-season games and 12 playoff games last season. Forwards Aaron Macklin and Chase Witala and defenceman Joe Carvalho are the other three Cougar overagers... The first-year prospects will be on the ice today at 4 p.m. at CN Centre for the Young Guns game, followed by a goaltenders session at 6:30 p.m.
