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Leppard off to strong start in Cats' camp

Like dozens of draft-eligible prospects in the NHL draft that came and went in June, Jackson Leppard couldn’t help but feel disappointed. His name was not among the 217 players selected.
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Like dozens of draft-eligible prospects in the NHL draft that came and went in June, Jackson Leppard couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
His name was not among the 217 players selected. A mid-season slump in his sophomore season dropped the Prince George Cougar forward’s ranking among North American skaters from 95th at midseason to 122nd leading into the draft and he didn’t get the call.
That didn’t mean the NHL wasn’t interested.
The Tampa Bay Lightning obviously liked what they saw and asked Leppard to come to their summer camp and decided he deserved a return trip to the Bolts’ rookie tournament, which starts in a couple weeks in Fort Myers, Fla.
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much because you never know what can happen in that draft, but I was fortunate enough to get an invite to Tampa and it was lots of fun there,” said Leppard, picked by the Cougars eighth overall in the 2015 WHL bantam draft.

The six-foot-two, 200-pound Leppard met Lightning GM Steve Yzerman at the exit interviews and the 19-year-old North Vancouver native is looking forward to going back for a mini tournament against the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators. He leaves for Florida on Sept. 5.
“There are no bad players there and the staff treat you like a pro,” he said. “I had a really good time and I’m going back there. You go into the rink and you’re dialed in and you come out and it’s like you’re on vacation again. It’s a real nice city.”
Leppard played the first half of last season on the Cats’ top scoring line with centre Jared Bethune and left winger Kody McDonald. In the first 22 games Leppard collected six goals and 14 points, then was held to just two goals in a 12-game stretch leading up to the Christmas break.
“For sure, that was hard,” he said. “I came in and had a good start and we had a good line going there, putting up points, and it’s hard to get out of a slump, that’s one of the tough parts of hockey.
“Being that one year older, coming in here as a third-year guy, I’ve got a lot more confidence,” he said. “You feel bigger and faster out there with a new year of younger guys coming and it definitely helps the confidence when you can dominate out there. My work ethic and my speed have improved over the summer.”
Leppard is one of only a handful of Cougars at the older end of the junior age spectrum and will be looked upon as one of the leaders of one of the youngest teams in the WHL. In his first scrimmage at training camp Saturday afternoon, playing for Team Byfuglien, he scored two of his team’s five goals, hit the crossbar twice and drew an assist.
“I thought he was the best player on the ice (Saturday night),” said Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk. “It’s just his presence, he was doing the right things, he was physical, he was stopping on loose pucks and he was winning little battles.
“He worked out real hard over the summer and put some meat on his bones and he did the right things and is proving it here in camp. That’s why he got the invitation to go (to Tampa). I’m sure he has the fire in his belly knowing that he didn’t get drafted and what he can do now is put the past behind him and get ready to go get drafted this year.”
Maser vs. Maser
Tyler Maser aced the fitness tests Sunday morning at Kin 2, then flexed his muscles on the ice at CN Centre taking on his identical twin brother Josh.
Tyler, who was born two minutes before his 19-year-old brother, is loving every minute of his first WHL camp vying for the chance to play for the Cougars when they open their 25th season in Prince George late next month.
Tyler scored his second goal in three tournament games for Team Chara in their 2-1 loss to Josh’s Team Connolly Sunday afternoon.
Not since their Cariboo major midget days in the 2015-16 season have the Maser boys from Houston played together and Tyler is stating his case to remain a Cat permanently after one full season in the BCHL with the Nanaimo Clippers.
“It’s good competition, I like playing against him, it makes me take one step above and compete that much harder,” said Tyler.
Tyler trained with his brother in Prince George throughout the summer with Nick Drazenovic, the Cougars’ director of player development, and Drazenovic invited him to camp. Both Masers play a physical style and like to muck it up along the boards. They both work in a lumber yard in the off season and are among the strongest players in camp. Josh is listed as six-foot-two, 207 pounds, while Tyler is the same height, tipping the scales at 212.
They both scored well in the off-ice fitness tests Sunday. Josh finished fourth overall, while Tyer was sixth-best. Not surprisingly, they finished 1-2 in the grip test, with Tyler slightly more crushing in his handshakes.
“We have the same strengths and whatever he does I just try to match up with him and do a little better,” said Tyler, who played on the Clippers’ fourth line and had one goal and six points in 48 games.
“I’d say we do bring out the best in each other on and off the ice. I try to model my game after him a little bit. I watch his games and watch what he does and try it in a game and see if it works for me.”
Josh is heading into his third year in the WHL, coming off a 28-goal, 49-point 2017-18 season. If Tyler makes the final cut, they would be the first twins ever to play for the Cougars. “It’s definitely cool, it would be super-exciting for Prince George and we’ll see what happens,” said Tyler.
Fittest of the fit
Jack Sander was the overall winner in the off-ice tests on the Kin 2 floor, which included a 20-metre sprint, horizontal and vertical jumps, a medicine ball toss and an agility shuttle run. Ryan Schoettler was second overall and Cole Beamin was third-best on the list. All of the top-three are defencemen.
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Camp scrimmages continued Monday and resume this afternoon. Four Prince George minor hockey products are involved in the six-day camp. Forward Reid Perepeluk, 18, is back for his second season with the Cougars. He had two goals and an assist in 10 games with the Cats as a junior B call-up. He plays for Team Connolly along with 15-year-old forward prospect Carter Yarish. Fifteen-year-old forward Kellan Brienen is on Team Bourke and 17-year-old defenceman Mathew Magrath is suiting up for Team Chara.
Phare offers flexibilty
Defenceman or forward, it doesn’t matter to Tyson Phare.
He just wants to be a Prince George Cougar. Drafted in the first round as a forward by the Cougars in 2017, Phare was asked halfway through last season by his Yale Academy midget coach to fill in for an injured defenceman, and he stayed on the blueline the rest of the season.
Phare played a good chunk of his minor hockey career on defence and has always prided himself for his two-way abilities. That versatility and attention to detail in his own end could raise the 17-year-old’s stock as he fights for a full-time position in his second WHL camp.
“I played about half the season on defence and didn’t do too bad,” said the native of Maple Ridge, who had 20 goals and 39 points in 27 games with the Yale prep team.
“We had two defencemen who were injured and one was suspended and my coach heard I’d played defence for most of my hockey-playing career. Second-year peewee was my first year at forward and I just stuck with it for there.
“It doesn’t make a difference to me, it’s all about what the team needs me to do so we have a better chance to win. If they feel I can slot in there (on defence), then that’s where I’ll play.”
The six-foot-one Phare has been working out in the gym regularly and now weighs about 200 pounds, 13 pounds heavier than he was a year ago.
Billy Wilms, the Cougars Lower Mainland scout, is the Yale Academy program co-ordinator and was behind the bench coaching Phare’s Team Bourke in the first scrimmage Saturday.
Exclusive company
Mark Lamb is getting his first look at his players since taking over the general manager’s reins and he and head scout Bob Simmonds have limited the size of the training camp roster to just 63 players, about 40 fewer than last year. Aside from the 13 2003-born players, who as 15-year-olds are not eligible to play more than five games during the season, the remaining 50 are in the hunt for full-time positions.
“There’s spots available and that’s why this camp was set up the way it is,” said Matvichuk. “Knowing where we finished last year, it’s not good enough. We want to be in the playoffs and with the youth we have with these guys coming in and battling for these spots, it’s fun to watch.”
Each of the four training camp teams has five defencemen and nine forwards, with all two goalies except one team (Isaiah DiLaura is the only netminder on Team Byfuglien).
“I know some camps get into the 100-150 (range) and a lot of people think they get lost in the cracks, which I think they do,” said Lamb. “Here, they’re getting a lot of ice time and the camp’s going to be a bit longer and that means more opportunity.
“Some kids are too young to make the team but everyone else is here for a reason and that’s to try to make the hockey team.”
The first cuts will be made following Wednesday’s intrasquad game.