http://www.phoenixcoyotes.com/news/story_details.php?op=details&ID=4053
TOP PICK BLAKE WHEELER STARS IN GREEN BAY
Coyotes prospect Blake Wheeler -- selected by the Coyotes in the 1st round (5th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft -- was recently featured on the cover of USA Junior Hockey Magazine (the February 18, 2005 issue). Below is the cover story on Blake Wheeler courtesy of USA Junior Hockey Magazine and Editor-In-Chief Brian McDonough.
The Big Ticket
Season in Green Bay paying off for Coyotes prospect
By Brian McDonough, USA Junior Hockey Magazine
No player has ever arrived in the USHL with as much hype and anticipation as Blake Wheeler. Then again, no team in the league’s 26-year history ever had a first-round NHL draft pick occupy a stall in its locker room the season following that selection.
That’s until Wheeler, the fifth overall pick by the Phoenix Coyotes in last year’s draft, decided to leave his state titles and ridiculous stat lines at Minneapolis’ Breck School behind to join the Green Bay Gamblers.
And as he heads into the homestretch of his first and final season of junior hockey, the high school senior doesn’t have a single regret about his choice. The way he sees it, sometimes the smallest of sacrifices bring the greatest rewards.
“Obviously, playing for your high school is a really special thing to do and having that senior year experience would have been great, but you have to look at the long run sometimes and go out of your comfort zone to try to make yourself better, so that’s what I did this year and it’s been great,” said Wheeler.
But it hasn’t been a snap for the 6-foot-4, 185-pound Wheeler, who pranced his way to 100 points in 30 games last season as a junior for Class A state champion Breck. As the 18-year-old quickly discovered, the USHL isn’t very forgiving, and at times, fun. Long gone are the lopsided blowouts, fancy end-to-end rushes and goals practically on cue.
“To be honest, there were (high school) games where you’d go into it and know that, no matter what happens, we were going to win by 10 goals,” said Wheeler, whose rights were acquired by Green Bay when former Gamblers coach-GM Mark Osiecki selected him the 2003 USHL Futures Draft. “Going into a hockey game like that, it’s difficult to be focused because no matter happens, that’s going to be the end result.”
“It’s a major adjustment from high school hockey to the USHL,” said Gamblers coach-GM Mark Mazzoleni. “[Success is] not going to happen overnight, no matter how talented you are because so many things are different: the challenge of living away from home; the practice schedule; the intensity level of practice; the competitive level of practice.
“Then you get into the game situation and the travel that’s involved with it, and just the game itself; the speed and the physicality of it. It’s really night-and-day from high school and prep school hockey and probably why kids who do well in this league, in the majority of cases, have a pretty good transition right to college.”
For Wheeler, that means the University of Minnesota, where he’ll be greeted with a whole new set of challenges as he competes for a spot in the lineup with a number of other former USHL standouts with NHL futures.
Phoenix, for one, is thrilled with his decision to skate for the Gophers before he’s called upon to prove his worth in the Arizona desert.
“He has size, intelligence, athleticism, an appetite for improvement and a terrific family support system,” said Coyotes GM Mike Barnett, whose team holds the rights to two former USHLers in forward Jeff Taffe and defenseman Keith Ballard, both former Gophers. “Their decision to see Blake attend the University of Minnesota and play under that program is a plus to the Phoenix Coyotes in our future hopes for this prospect.”
“Minnesota knew what they got, and they’re going to be thrilled when they get him because he has so many God-given talents and he’s learned how to use them and he’s continuing to learn,” said Mazzoleni.
For the time, however, that education isn’t limited to Xs and Os on a locker room greaseboard. In fact, any hesitation Wheeler and his family had of him coming to Green Bay didn’t really have anything to do with the hockey, but rather keeping him honest in the classroom.
“Breck is a pretty academically-strenuous school, and I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t taking any steps back because I’ve been prepared well for college by going to that school,” said Wheeler, who is finishing up high school at Ashwaubenon (Wis.) High.
“He left a tremendous school at Breck,” said Mazzoleni. “He’s a very serious student, and he wanted to make sure he would be able to continue on that path and we’ve been able to provide that for him.”
As far as his development on the ice, there really wasn’t much choice for Wheeler but to toil for a year in America’s Tier 1 League. Major Junior was out of the question because the loss of eligibility immediately ended a lifelong dream of playing for Minnesota. And returning to Breck didn’t present nearly enough of a test for someone pegged to be the cornerstone of an NHL team a few years down the road.
“When I look back on the thought of playing high school hockey this year, I’m really happy I made the decision to play in the USHL,” said Wheeler, who led the Gamblers in scoring with 14 goals for 32 points after 38 games. “You have to really make your own opportunities in this league, whereas in high school you can float around and let the puck come to you. In the USHL, you have to go get the puck. You have to be more in control if you’re going to make things happen.
“Playing against kids older than you is also a big challenge, and it’s just been a great experience having that competition every night,” he continued. “There aren’t any teams you can walk over or anything like that. No matter whether it’s the last-place team or the first-place team, it’s going to be a great game.”
As grounded and mature as Wheeler approaches his unique situation, he admits to a little bit of awkwardness upon his arrival in Green Bay. He wasn’t certain how his teammates – or opponents – would take to the young headline-hog who hadn’t even played a game of junior hockey yet.
“I guess I thought about it too much in the beginning of the season and felt like there was maybe something to prove, but as the year went on, I was just trying to play my game and do whatever I had to do to help the team win,” said Wheeler. “I couldn’t be the No. 5 pick in the NHL draft every night, you just can’t live up to that. More than anything I just wanted to fit in with the team and try to blend in with everyone else.”
“I think Blake’s got a very mature outlook that he knows he can only control the present,” said Mazzoleni. “He’s not looking down to what’s happening at Minnesota next year or what’s going to happen with Phoenix. He knows he needs to accomplish things in the present before put a foot out in the future.”
And that means keeping a high level of intensity shift after shift, night in and night out. Like most first-year junior players, Wheeler fought those demons early on as well.
“In the beginning, I was just kind of going through the motions and trying to feel my way out and you really can’t do that,” he explained. “The league can take a toll on your body and can be pretty demanding physically, but overall you have to be there mentally to be able to compete every night. The schedule is really grueling, but as long as you’re there mentally, you’re going to be able to have some success.”
“He’s learning that if he’s going to succeed he needs to put the time and effort into his game because you’re not going to get by on just skill alone,” said Mazzoleni. “You’ve got to supplement that with hard work and being coachable, and he is. He’s a great kid, he does everything I ask him to do.”
In particular, Mazzoleni wanted to see Wheeler using his formidable frame more to his advantage, playing what the coach calls “a big-man’s game.”
“That’s one thing I’ve really emphasized with him,” said Mazzoleni. “Any kid who has Blake’s size, it’s a God-given gift, and when you learn how to use it properly, you can do things other kids who are six feet can’t.”
Over the past month, Wheeler has heeded to Mazzoleni’s mentoring. He’s established himself as a dominant force of the ice on nightly basis, mostly by playing big, physical, and even a little mean. The results are proof positive: it’s led to more offensive opportunities for Wheeler and, more importantly, more Gambler victories.
“He’s getting in on the forecheck, he’s using his big body and he’s hitting people,” said Mazzoleni. “I don’t know if he was ever asked to do that before or if it was an important part of their (Breck’s) game, but it is at our level, and it is for a kid who’s 6-foot-4.”
“We talk a lot as a team about being physical and finishing all your checks, because it takes such a toll on the other team, and if you don’t finish your check it sends a bad vibe out to the rest of the team,” said Wheeler. “More than anything, I’ve tried to be the instigator and take the body as much as I can so it gets the team going and takes a little out of the other team.”
If the Gamblers have any chance of creeping back into the Clark Cup playoff picture, they’re going to need more of The Big Wheel. Green Bay was off to a decent start in 2005, but still had a 14-24-1 mark after 39 games.
Take into consideration, too, that those 24 losses were 23 more than Wheeler experienced last season in football – Breck also won the Minnesota state title in which Wheeler, a tight end, was named MVP - and hockey, combined.
“That’s been the toughest thing, losing,” said Wheeler. “When I was at Breck, especially last year, I think I got a little spoiled. I guess the biggest challenge is trying to fight through it. We should be doing better than we are right now, but there’s still some time left and we feel like we can definitely make a push for the playoffs.”
“It’s challenging for him, but I think it’s good,” said Mazzoleni. “I think you develop character through adversity. Everything can’t always be hunky dory, because sooner or later he’s going to face adversity.
“You have to understand what it takes to succeed. It’s not always going to be a given that you’re going to be on the top end of everything, and I think that’s probably what he’s learning: you’ve got to work for it.”
The work is still in its early stages, but conquering that important first step already has him way ahead of the game - a familiar spot of Wheeler.
Migrating Osprey, I should have been much more clear. One more question..Where is BBoucher, is he healthy so we can send the kid LeNevue back to S.A.?
