Howarth making most of chance with Chiefs
A lot of players might not relish being traded from a Western Hockey League champion and Memorial Cup team, but Kyle Howarth is fine with it.
In fact, the Spokane Chiefs’ 18-year-old left winger has been on a tear since Christmas, posting five goals and four assists in 11 games since the break.
Overall, Howarth has improved his plus-minus rating from +1 to +8 and has 14 points in 36 games since being acquired in a trade with Medicine Hat two games into the season.
The 6-foot-1, 197-pounder has also led a more physical Chiefs presence on the front line with his hard checking. All in all, it’s been a good move for the product of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
“They (the Chiefs) told me that the top three lines is what they were looking at, so I saw that as a pretty good opportunity,” Howarth said of the move. “So I worked hard … then some injuries came and I got a chance.”
Howarth has made the most of his moment, having just wrapped up the best weekend of his young WHL career. He was picked as No. 1 star after both weekend games while scoring two goals each night – the first times in his career he’s received that honor.
“The goals are just going in for me right now,” said Howarth. “Every time I get a chance I’ve got to just bear down. That’s what I’ve been doing and they seem to be going in, so I’ve got to keep it up.”
Not coincidentally, the rise in his scoring has come at the same time he has started checking opponents off the puck more on the forecheck.
“I love to hit,” says Howarth. “I love to see a guy on his butt after making a big hit, so when I do that’s when I’m playing my best.”
Howarth has been playing well lately, but it hasn’t all been easy for him since arriving in Spokane. He initially spent some time with the coaching staff after practice to improve his conditioning and ensure he was skating up to his potential on a daily basis.
“That’s definitely been a problem for me for probably all of my hockey career,” says Howarth. “I’m pretty much an inconsistent guy, but this year I have been a lot better. Hopefully, in years to come I will get better and do something with hockey.”
It’s pretty heady stuff for a kid who is technically still a rookie in his first full WHL season. He played in only 12 games with Medicine Hat last season but was on the roster for the Memorial Cup. He says the experience was invaluable.
“I didn’t play, but just being there and being part of the team, it was really something special,” says Howarth. “I’m not going to forget that for the rest of my life.”
He also cherishes every chance he gets to play against his twin brother, Brent, a winger for defending Memorial Cup champion Kelowna. They met on Dec. 29 at the Arena and Kyle had a point and an assist in Spokane’s 5-4 OT win. They’ll see each other again in March when the teams meet in Kelowna.
“It’s always fun,” Kyle says. “The last time we played, I seemed to get the best of him. … I don’t know how happy he was for me, because it kind of seems like we’re in a competition for the points. I’m ahead of him by one (15-14), so hopefully I can keep that going.”