Chad Staley is not a big guy on the junior hockey scale but his impact to the bottom line of the Prince George Spruce Kings has been nothing short of gigantic.
Staley, a 19-year-old native of Kennewick, Wash., was the obvious choice for the BCHL player of the week award, collecting four goals and six assists for 10 points in three road games.
"It was huge weekend for us going on one of the tougher roadtrips of the year, going from Trail to Vernon and Salmon Arm and it was important we got five out of six points, the boys battled hard," said Staley, who leads the Spruce Kings with 12 goals and is now into the BCHL's top-10 scoring list with 26 points.
Centring a line with right winger Jeremiah Luedtke and right winger Brent Lashuk, Staley's point production lately has helped move the Spruce Kings to the upper reaches of the BCHL standings. Luedtke and Lashuk are right behind Staley in team scoring, each with 19 points .
"Pretty well ever since Lashuk got on our line [Oct. 19, after he missed five games with a concussion] we've just been on a tear, scoring every game it seems like," said Staley, who has two game-winning goals this season.
"A lot of my success has to do with my linemates, who have been doing really good. Brent's a power forward who gets to the net and that opens up a lot of space for me and Jeremiah to make plays. I'm a lot more comfortable here now, knowing the coaches and a lot of the guys for a year now. I've got a lot more opportunity and more responsibility, especially with all the injuries, and I think it's just boosted my confidence."
The Spruce Kings discovered Staley and Luedtke, his longtime minor hockey linemate, two winters ago while they were helping the Wenatchee Wild win a midget tournament in Kelowna.
The five-foot-nine, 175-pound Staley is quick on his feet and has been rewarded for his work habits with extra duty on special teams. He needs just one point to match the 27 he collected in 56 games last season as a Spruce Kings rookie.
"He does everything well and he's a small guy but he doesn't play small," said head coach Dave Dupas. "He's the first guy in the corners and he usually comes out with the puck. He's so good on his skates, his balance is great, his lateral movement is phenomenal and he can do it all handling the puck. He was generating chances earlier in the season and they weren't going in and now they are going in. He and Luedtke are a real tough task for anybody."
The Kings (13-7-2-2) head into a two-game weekend series at the Coliseum against the Surrey Eagles, trailing Langley and Powell River by just one point for first overall in the 16-team league. The Spruce Kings have gone 12 games without a loss in regulation time.
To face the Eagles, the Kings will welcome back 18-year-old right winger Jake LeBrun, who missed 14 games with a concussion suffered when he was checked head-first into the boards Oct. 4 while playing the Vernon Vipers. At the time, LeBrun was the Kings leading scorer with eight goals and 13 points in 10 games. At six-foot-one, 215 pounds, he'll add some needed bulk to the Kings' offence this weekend. Forward Cole Todd is also back after sitting out seven games with a concussion.
Led by 20-year-old Holy Cross recruit Brett Mulcahy (18 goals, 29 points), the Eagles are among the BCHL's top scoring teams, averaging 3.41 goals-for per game. But they've had problems keeping the puck out of their own net, allowing an average 3.79 goals-against, fourth-worst in the BCHL. In three head-to-head games this season the teams each have a win, a loss and a tie.
Jesse Jenks, 18 will get the start in net for the Spruce Kings. He was away the past two weeks helping lead Canada West to a bronze-medal showing at the World Junior A Challenge in Nova Scotia. The Kings did not miss a beat with Alex Murray playing goal. The 20-year-old was a standout for all the right reasons in the three games last weekend.
The Kings' injury list still includes F Bryant Christian (broken jaw), F Sean Landrey (concussion, might play tonight), and F Mitchell Barker (sprained ankle).
