By Wes Gilbertson /
For the Regina Pats, two Jordans would be better than one.
But while Jordan Eberle tried to make the most of an audition with the Edmonton Oilers, his old linemate Jordan Weal was trying to pick up the offensive slack at the Brandt Centre.
“Since Ebs is not back, and we don’t know if he’s going to be here, they’re kind of keying on me,” Weal said. “But I’ve just gotta work through that and find ways to get around it with my smarts and my speed.
“It’s going to be a progress this year, especially if Ebs doesn’t come back. We’re going to have to tighten up defensively and just play sound that way and bury the chances we can get.”
Eberle, who became a household name across Canada after his heroic game-tying goal at the world junior hockey championship, is trying to earn a job at Rexall Place, leaving some huge skates to fill on the Pats top line.
It didn’t take long for fans to notice
his absence.
First-line winger Matt Strueby was the only Pats player to light the lamp in their season-opener against the Saskatoon Blades. In their home-opener the following day, they were shut out by the Brandon Wheat Kings.
“It’s definitely a big difference,” Weal said. “He’s a terrific player. He really finds those places in the offensive zone — those quiet spots — and he gets open for you so you can just feed him the puck and a lot of times, he’s going to put it in the net. It’s really a huge bonus to have him on the team, but we just have to practise and play like he’s not coming back and if he does, it’ll be a huge bonus.”
Weal was one of the pleasant surprises of the 2008-09 Western Hockey
League campaign.
The North Vancouver, B.C.-product scored 16 times and tallied 54 assists last season, the most of any 16-year-old on the 22-team loop.
As the centre and go-to guy on Regina’s top line at least for now he’ll be counted on to contribute even more often this season.
The good news is, he had a pretty good mentor in his rookie season.
“(Eberle) taught me how to play without the puck a lot, so I learned a lot of stuff from him,” Weal said. “He gave me some pointers about the offensive zone, how to find those quiet areas, and he’s got those great hands down low so I definitely took a few tips from him about that.”
The Pats finished with a 27-39-1-5 record last season, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004-05. While Weal was certainly satisfied with his individual stats as a WHL rookie, he’d likely trade it all for a trip to the post-season.
“I definitely had a good year and hopefully I can carry that over to this year and help my team make the playoffs,” he said. “That’s what we want to do — maybe go deep in the playoffs and maybe catch fire and make the Memorial Cup.”