With his future Winnipeg Jets bosses watching from the stands, Jansen Harkins picked a great time to break out of his scoring slump.
The 18-year-old Prince George Cougars centre found the net with the puck on back-to-back nights at the CHL Canada Russia Super Series, doubling his WHL season goal output this season.
Playing on a line with Nick Merkley and Reid Gardiner Monday night in Kamloops, Harkins's goal 12 minutes into the second period made it 6-0 for Team WHL on the way to a 7-3 victory. The following night in Kelowna, Harkins opened the scoring 3:24 in, banging in a rebound of a shot from linemate Brayden Point and Team WHL hung on to win 4-2.
For Harkins, still on the radar to earn an invitation to Canada's world junior team camp in December, the chance to perform closer to his capabilities in the Super Series was a shot in the arm, as the native of North Vancouver has had a difficult time living up to expectations after leading the Cougars in scoring last season.
"I felt pretty good," said Harkins. "It was important to win. We weren't just playing just to play, our goal was to play to win to show what we can do in the West and it was good for us to get the wins.
"At any of those Team Canada events, all the players are good and everyone involved is doing everything they can so you can perform and it was fun. The games were good and the Russians were pretty good as well. I was just focusing on the moment and I enjoyed it."
Harkins and the Cougars are counting on his performance in the Russia series as a sign his scoring slump has come to an end. The Cats are playing three games in the next three nights and they need that production from Harkins to continue. He missed two games last week battling flu-like symptoms and returned to the Cougars lineup Saturday in Kamloops, where the Cougars lost 5-2.
Picked by Winnipeg in the second round of the 2015 draft, 47th overall, Harkins was back with the Cougars for the first game of the season but has struggled on the ice since his NHL camp. His only goal this season in a Cougar uniform came on Oct. 9 in a 5-2 loss at home to Tri-City. He also has five assists in 13 games and his plus/minus rating is a team low minus-9.
That's a far cry from last year when he led the Cougars with 79 points after setting a team single-season record with 59 assists. He ended the season a plus-7 and also contributed four assists in five playoff games.
"It was good for me to get those (Super Series) goals, especially for the team - hopefully I can use that to build some confidence moving forward and get rolling a bit here," said Harkins. "It's been pretty tough but hopefully I can get some confidence and start playing the way I know I can play."
The Cougars (8-7-1-0, fifth in the Western Conference) host the Edmonton Oil Kings (7-9-3-0, ninth in the Eastern Conference) tonight and Saturday at CN Centre, then hit Kamloops for a Sunday night game against the Blazers. Harkins will be playing on a line with Jared Bethune and Brad Morrison.
Harkins knows Nick McBride, the Cougars' 18-year-old goalie, acquired last week in a trade from Prince Albert. They played against each other when Harkins played minor hockey for the North Shore Winter Club and McBride was with the Burnaby Winter Club. They were also teammates in summer hockey and on several Hockey Canada teams.
"Burnaby was always a good team in my years and they were really hard to play against and I don't know if we got many shots on him but he was always there (to make the save) when we did," said Harkins. "He was always a good player."
