Their respective pro futures are in the hands of the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and Las Vegas Golden Knights, but the immediate concerns for Chaz Reddekopp, Tyler Soy and Dylan Coghlan rest in the Western Hockey League.
Reddekopp, Soy and the undefeated Victoria Royals (6-0) host Coghlan and the Tri-City Americans (3-3) tonight and Wednesday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
Coghlan, the undrafted six-foot-three blue-liner from Nanaimo who recently signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Golden Knights, will have plenty of family and friends in the stands tonight.
鈥淚t was tough not being drafted, but I knew if I stuck to it, good things could happen,鈥� said Coghlan, of his pursuit of pro hockey.
With size and puck-moving ability, the Islander seem to have it all.
鈥淚 consider myself a two-way defenceman who can skate, and I keep things as simple as I can,鈥� said Coghlan, who has a goal and an assist this season, after recording 15 goals and 38 assists for 53 points last season for the Americans.
That style, and his stay-with-it attitude, led to an NHL contract with Las Vegas, at about the same time the Golden Knights also signed goaltender Dylan Ferguson from Nanaimo. Ferguson, who plays for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL, and Coghlan played spring hockey together growing up in the Harbour City.
Another local connection to the Americans is 20-year-old Jordan Topping of Salt Spring Island. The offensive force has three goals and two assists for five points this season, after the former North Island Silvertips midget and Cowichan Valley Capitals forward scored 33 goals for Tri-City in 2015-16 and 28 in just 43 games in his injury-plagued 2016-17 campaign.
Add first-rounder Michael Rasmussen, the six-foot-six centre from Surrey, selected ninth overall in the 2017 NHL draft by the Detroit Red Wings, and you can see why the Americans were the darlings of so many WHL pre-season predictions.
Despite the rather pedestrian .500 record over the first six games, Tri-City will be heard from.
鈥淚 think we are going to impress a lot of people . . . it鈥檚 going to be an exciting year,鈥� said Coghlan.
Yet, it鈥檚 the Royals, also veteran and deep, who have created the early-season buzz in the WHL.
鈥淭hese are two good teams, both with a lot of depth, and we are going to have to be hard on Victoria鈥檚 top forwards,鈥� said Coghlan.
That because those top-end guys can fly. Dante Hannoun is second in the league in goals with eight and tied for fourth in points with 15, while Matthew Phillips is also top-10 with 14 points and Ryan Peckford and Jared Legien top-15 with 12 points each. Peckford has a WHL second-best five power-play goals and Philllips a league-leading nine power-play assists and a WHL third-best 11 assists overall.
In the crease, Griffen Outhouse sports a league second-best 1.87 goals-against average.
Add to this the addition of 20-year-olds Soy and Reddekopp from the pro camps of the Ducks and Kings, respectively, as both scored in their first game back with Victoria on Friday night in a 4-1 victory over Ferguson and the Blazers in Kamloops.
Both are rare five-season WHLers with the same team.
鈥淥bviously, it鈥檚 disappointing not to be staying in the pros, but I knew I was coming back to a special group in Victoria,鈥� said Reddekopp, the six-foot-four, 222-pound rearguard out of West Kelowna, who is signed by the Kings.
鈥淧laying with NHL guys has given me a lot more confidence, especially in terms of pushing up the puck.鈥�
Soy was also sent back with certain things to work on.
鈥淭he Ducks were happy with my camp . . . it鈥檚 about me getting stronger,鈥� said the native of Cloverdale, about taking that next step to the pros.
Soy, a centre, was drafted by Anaheim but is unsigned by the Ducks. Handy around the crease, he scored 46 goals for the Royals in 2015-16 but was limited to 25 goals in 44 games in his injury-riddled 2016-17 campaign. He should soon begin making up for lost time and move his way up the Royals鈥� scoring list for the season.
鈥淲e have to stay in the moment and not get too far ahead of ourselves,鈥� said Soy, about Victoria鈥檚 torrid start.
ICE CHIPS: Royals forward prospect Ty Thorpe of Brandon, selected in the third round of the 2017 WHL bantam draft, will represent Manitoba in the WHL Cup (formerly Western sa国际传媒 U-16 Challenge Cup) from Oct. 18-22 in Calgary. Four Island players were named to the sa国际传媒 team. They are forwards Payton Mount, defenceman Ethan Brandwood, goaltender Dylan Garand, all of Victoria, and defenceman John Little of Parksville. Mount was taken in the WHL bantam draft by Seattle, Little by Vancouver and Brandwood and Garand both by Kamloops.
