By James Shewaga / 

A 100-point season didn’t earn him a coveted NCAA hockey scholarship last season, but Jason Bowles didn’t get 
discouraged.

Instead, the 20-year-old native of Elkhorn, Man., rededicated himself to preparing for his fourth and final season in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and the results have been obvious.

Bowles burst out of the gate by scoring six goals and racking up a league-leading 22 points in only eight games to help the Waywayseecappo Wolverines take the early lead in the MJHL standings with an impressive 7-0-1-0 record entering the second week of October.

“This is my last year, one more kick at the can and it would be nice if we finished off with a great year,” said Bowles, whose early efforts earned him the MJHL player of the month award for September.

“I worked hard all summer towards having a good year, knowing this year kind of decides whether I go to school next year. So having a good start was important, but it’s been a whole team thing, really.”

However, Bowles has clearly been the catalyst for the Wolverines, according to Waywayseecappo head coach/general manager Barry Butler, who was expected to name Bowles his team captain this season.

“This is his fourth year, so he’s kind of like the old man on the block with our hockey club and he knows our program very well and he’s well-respected in the dressing room,” said Butler, noting that Bowles has attracted renewed interest from 
NCAA scouts.

“Jason isn’t one of those raw-raw guys, but when he talks in the dressing room, it’s generally worth listening to and he shows it on the ice.

“He had a great season last year and now he’s taken off this year to even improve on last year’s season.”

The 5-11, 185-pound centre originally hoped to play in the Western Hockey League, attending a couple of training camps with the Brandon Wheat Kings.

But after suffering two broken ankles and missing all but seven games of his 16-year-old season in Midget AAA, Bowles turned his attention to Junior A hockey with Waywayseecappo, hoping to earn a U.S. college scholarship.

“When I was 15 and 16, I was kind of thinking more WHL,” said Bowles, who fired 35 goals and added 66 assists in 62 games last season to finish sixth in league scoring with 101 points.

“I went to a few Wheat Kings camps, but never cracked the lineup. And after my first year in the MJ, I figured this is what I wanted to do, I wanted to go to school and get an education out of it ... That’s the goal right now. There’s a few teams with interest who have wanted to come and watch some games so far, so hopefully I will just keep up the good play.

“And as long as your team is winning, that’s when they come out to watch.”