Hunter Shinkaruk loves scoring goals. It’s easy to tell by the excitement in his celebrations, even during the pre-season.
But in his first season in the American Hockey League, the Vancouver Canucks prospect hasn’t been scoring with nearly the same regularity as he did in junior hockey with the Medicine Hat Tigers. He has only four goals — three of them being game winners — and 10 points, to go along with 57 shots on goal, in 26 games for the Utica Comets.
The style of hockey is completely different, although many of the NHL’s top players today have had to work their way up through the AHL.
Shinkaruk, speedy and creative with the puck, reasons why Vancouver took him 24th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, admitted he’s had to adapt to what can sometimes be more of a chip-and-chase, grind game at that level.
“A lot different than in the WHL and a lot different than even pre-season in the NHL,” he said in a phone interview with Metro on Wednesday.
“I guess for my game … maybe that’s not, you know, the thing that I like to do the most. It’s probably been a little tough. It’s not so offensive of a league but it’s been good. I’m learning a lot of different areas of the game. Obviously I still enjoy playing offence the most. But it’s been good to learn different sides of the game.”
Shinkaruk, who missed most of last season in the WHL with a hip injury that required surgery, said he still prefers to maintain that creative element to his game, trying to make a play.
“I think for me … I’m a creative player and that’s going to be the way that I’m going to make it,” he said.
“If you lose what’s gotten you here, I feel like that’s — you know what happens to some guys in this league and they kind of get forgotten about. I never want to lose that. I want to always play creative.”
In each of his two training camps with Vancouver — Shinkaruk was drafted during the Mike Gillis era — the skilled forward has impressed with his talent and nose for the net.
But the Canucks of 2014-15 are a much deeper team than what they trotted out last season and Shinkaruk, who was the subject of trade rumours at this year’s draft, was sent to Utica to continue his development.
“I feel like everything they’ve asked of me, I did in those camps but at the end of the day, you see the way the team is playing right now and their top-six (group of forwards) is pretty much set,” he said.
“It would be pretty tough for me to play up there. With all that being said, it was a little bit tough (being sent to Utica). But … there’s been a lot of great players who have come down here.”
His status as a first-round pick and touted prospect isn’t a guarantee of ice time.
On Saturday, Shinkaruk was a healthy scratch against Syracuse. Brendan Gaunce, another Vancouver first-round pick, was also scratched from the Utica lineup.
“It was tough and I definitely don’t agree with it but I think with all the veteran players, it was kind of one of those instances,” said Shinkaruk.
“I mean that’s part of the game, obviously. I don’t want it to be but it kind of was what it was.”
Shinkaruk was asked if being a healthy scratch fuels his motivation even more.
“I have quite a bit of motivation,” he replied.
“I feel like coming down here, I had a lot of motivation to prove to them that what I did in pre-season I could continue to do.
“I don’t know if it’s motivation. It’s something that when you’re in practice, you definitely think about, you want to make sure it never happens again.”
However, with more veterans on the team, Shinkaruk said it does help with the learning curve for younger players and he plans to continue to be like a sponge, soaking in as much information as he can.
For the 20-year-old Shinkaruk, adjustments haven’t been kept solely for on the ice.
“Living on your own and paying bills,” he said.
And paying his dues, too.
Note: Starting today, Metro Vancouver will run a series of profiles on Canucks prospects in the junior, college and minor league ranks. The series will run once a week, with Metro publishing the profiles online Wednesday and in print Thursday.
Source:: Metro News
