GAME DAY: PRINCE GEORGE VS. VICTORIA 7 p.m. at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre Radio: The Zone 91.3 FM / TV: None
Fisher and Fushimi sounds like a law firm.
Which is only appropriate since they are helping lay down the law for the most surprising Victoria Royals line combination.
Heading into the two-game Western Hockey League set tonight and Saturday against the Prince George Cougars (8-11-4) at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, any Royals fan can tell you what Logan Nelson can do. The 2012 draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres is second in team scoring with 22 points.
But rookies Brandon Fushimi and Logan Fisher - Nelson's linemates since a victory in Medicine Hat four games ago - have largely flown under the radar, yet their subtle value is becoming more evident by the day.
Fushimi has two goals and five points in 18 games and Fisher one goal and five points in 23 games. While their stats might be similar, their paths to the Royals (12-11) couldn't be more different.
Fisher led his hometown Red Deer Optimists to the Midget triple-A Telus Cup Canadian championship last season but also excelled in lacrosse and could just as easily have chosen that as his main sport - either field or box. Fushimi, meanwhile, is from Colorado and also starred in football and track and field and resisted the well-worn NCAA hockey path taken by many top American players.
"Playing with Logan [Nelson] makes it smooth. He's so easy to play with," said the 17-year-old Fisher.
"And Brandon [Fushimi] and I have been reading off each other really well."
Fushimi, who turns 17 in February, said the chemistry didn't just happen. At this level, it's usually the result of hard work and smart thinking.
"We're clicking and seeing each other in the right spots," he said.
"We're keeping it simple by cycling and placing the third guy high in the slot."
Fisher was originally listed in the WHL by the Portland Winterhawks but dropped. Fushimi came to Royals training camp last year as a Bantam and left an impression.
"My parents were a little nervous [about going the WHL route in sa国际传媒] but told me to 'live your dreams,' " said Fushimi.
Both offer the kind of youth and depth every WHL team needs.
"With Logan Nelson, they have been our best line since the Medicine Hat game," said Royals head coach Dave Lowry.
"[Fisher and Fushimi] are first-year players with big adjustments to make and they are in a period of transition in this league. But they look comfortable in this environment and it's showing on the ice."
The unlikely line has two Logans and two Americans, with Nelson from Minnesota.
Fushimi and Nelson are among a WHL-high six Americans on the Royals, making Thursday a big Thanksgiving Day. The Nelson family is up from Minnesota and invited everyone over for turkey dinner at their house rental.
So a team of Canadians and Americans, with a Czech and Russian thrown in for good measure, took part in some good ol' Americana on Canadian soil.
"They [Canadian Royals] give it to us a little bit with good-natured joking but we give it back to them," chuckled Fushimi, who said he would enjoy the turkey at the Nelsons'.
"For us, it [American Thanksgiving on Thursday] is the real thing."
And just maybe, his emerging Royals line will be the real deal, too.
ICE CHIPS: Blueliner Tyler Stahl will miss the Prince George set. The Royals captain was assessed a two-game suspension Thursday by the league for a check from behind in Tuesday's 5-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades at the Memorial Centre.
