In his final chance to impress his bosses, Chong Min Lee did everything he could to try to win a spot on the opening-day roster of the Prince George Spruce Kings.
He scored two goals, including the game-winner, and assisted on another goal as the game's first star in a 4-3 preseason win Saturday over the Grande Prairie Storm at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
But offensive ability is not the only requirement to gain steady employment as a forward in the B.C. Hockey League. The joy of celebrating the win soon turned to disappointment for the 17-year-old from South Korea when he learned he was one of four players the Kings cut from the team right after the game. They needed to reduce the roster to 21 players for the opening of the season next weekend.
Min Lee, the brother of 20-year-old Kings forward Chong Hyun Lee, still figures in the Spruce Kings' future plans. The Kings made that clear to him when they cut him along with 19-year-old forward Brett Witala, 16-year-old forward Ryan Stack, and 16-year-old defenceman Andrew Hunt.
For this season, Min Lee is eligible to return to the major midget Vancouver Northeast Chiefs, the team for which he scored 14 goals 28 assists and 42 points in 32 games in 2015-16. But on Saturday, he sure looked like he belonged playing in the BCHL for the Spruce Kings.
He set up Stack for the opening goal of the game midway through the first period and made it a 2-0 count with his first preseason goal a few minutes later. The Storm, 10-1 losers to the Kings Friday night, made a game of it with a pair of quick goals from Alex Brisson and Alec Grollman, both unassisted efforts in the 17th minute of the period.
The Spruce Kings retook the lead on a power-play shot from pointman Drew Lennon, but Storm defenceman Brendan Montgomery found the range with a slapshot late in the period to tie it up.
The Kings doubled their Alberta Junior Hockey League opponents in shots 30-14 through two periods but the teams were deadlocked 3-3 after 40 minutes. That lasted until Min Lee took a pass from his brother just inside the Storm blueline and wired a hard low shot in off the stick blade of Storm goalie Arik Weersink with 9:28 left to play.
The Storm had their chances in the third period but Kings goalie Stefan Wornig, all of six-foot-six, 220 pounds, withstood the pressure, coming up with a game-saving kick save with only a second left to deny Zach McNeill on a breakaway.
Shots ended up 44-21 in the Spruce Kings' favour.
"I think we were a little sloppy with our pucks to start but we were still skating well and doing what we need to do away from the puck and we'll get better with that," said Kings centre Kyle Johnson.
"It's just we're still getting to know each other so we can consistently play with the puck and be sharp. That breakaway save in the dying seconds was obviously huge for us. We know we have a guy (Wornig) who's going to bear down and make the saves when it matters and that's exciting for us. If we don't do everything perfect in front of him, he's going to have our backs and we're going to try to have his as much as we can."
The Spruce Kings are blessed with an abundance of speed and forwards Johnson and Braiden Epp made use of their quick feet and persistence to force turnovers and generate scoring chances. For the Kings to be successful this season, they'll have to continue to play that way.
Johnson, 18, is in his second season with the Spruce Kings and if he can keep up that pace he'll no doubt improve on his 12-goal, 41-point totals from last season.
"I'm feeling really strong and fast out there, I had a good summer training-wise and it's paying off so far, I'm winning more battles and outskating more guys and the simple stuff is a lot easier to do," said Johnson, a Yale recruit for 2018-19.
"We need to play with the puck and all four lines and our D can win puck battles and play with it and that's the key to creating all the chances and all the offensive success we've been having the last couple nights. We're a very fast team, we move the puck quick and skate quick and guys can't keep up with us."
The Kings will now prepare for their season-opener this Friday at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena when they host the Merritt Centennials.
