Jordan Subban is on pace for his best offensive season as a member of the Belleville Bulls in the Ontario Hockey League. But, he believes, paying too much attention to those numbers can lead to flaws in his game.
“To be honest, I’m not too much of a stats guy. I don’t check my stats that much. I think that’s when you get complacent,” said Subban in a phone interview with Metro on Wednesday.
“I just try to and do my routine and prepare the same every day.”
For just about everyone else, statistics are the best source of reference to see how a player is doing, how they’re progressing, how they might be regressing.
Subban woke up Wednesday with 14 goals and 29 points in 37 games, which at this rate, would have him eclipse his previous career best points total of 51 in 68 games with the Bulls back in the 2012-13 season, which was also his draft year.
The Vancouver Canucks selected Subban, a smooth skating but supposedly undersized blue liner, at 5’9″ and 175 pounds, in the fourth round with the 115th overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft.
He had a strong showing in the one pre-season game he appeared in this past September, scoring on a slap shot and getting mobbed by his Vancouver teammates when the puck went in.
His skating and passing abilities also didn’t go unnoticed. But he was sent back to the OHL the next day to further develop his game.
Playing an offensive type of game has earned Subban success at the junior level, but he admitted he does want to become better in his defensive end and be trusted more in that area when the game is tight.
“I think people look over the fact that sometimes for a lot of us that get sent back, we’re 18 and 19 years old and for most of us, we’re good offensive players,” said Subban, who began the day eighth among OHL defencemen in scoring.
“But … you have to be a good all-around player to play in the NHL. Me, I’m a defenceman, so that’s first and foremost. It definitely was a point of emphasis for (the Canucks) and something that I wanted to improve on this season, as well.”
“I really felt like I took so much out of that training camp and brought it back with me to Belleville. My first year, my first camp, I was just trying to hang on and learn from watching. I felt like this camp, I was more involved.
“I was definitely more confident and definitely wanted to make more of an impression, especially with new coaches and new management.”
Subban has kept tabs on the Canucks throughout the season, noting their win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
He said he was also in attendance when they lost to the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre last month.
He may still be a few years away from getting a real crack at making the NHL. But his older brother, and NHL star, P.K. Subban believes Jordan will be the best amongst the three hockey siblings, including goalie Malcolm Subban, a Boston Bruins prospect.
At least that’s according to comments in a lengthy profile of P.K. Subban in The New Yorker.
Jordan Subban said it’s nice to receive such accolades, but he tries to retain an even disposition. That’s not always easy.
“It’s always nice to hear when people are complimenting you, especially when it’s coming from an NHL player, even if he is my brother,” said Subban, who turns 20 years old in March.
“But I’ve always been told not to get too high when things are going well, not to get too low when they’re not.”
The Bulls, fourth in the OHL’s Eastern Conference, host the Windsor Spitfires on Wednesday.
On Monday, Belleville traded its former top scorer, Remi Elie, and former team captain Jake Marchment to the Erie Otters in exchange for forward Trent Fox — the younger brother of Canucks prospect Dane Fox — and defenceman Jesse Saban, as well as six draft picks.
The move now makes Subban the leading scorer in Belleville. But such a deal, at least from the outside, initially seemed surprising.
“Maybe a bit. Even so, I still don’t see it as a step back,” Subban said.
Source:: Metro News
