The soaring Delta Ice Hawks are the hottest team in the Pacific Junior Hockey League and it's a couple of Ladner boys doing much of the damage.
The Ice Hawks (14-6-0) made it seven straight wins with a 4-2 triumph over the Aldergrove Kodiaks on Tuesday in a showdown of respective conference leaders.
It was a rare night that saw Mark Trotman and Jordan Bogress held off the scoresheet. The South Delta Minor Hockey products and linemates have been on an tear - combining for 27 goals. Trotman, 20, actually started the season on the blueline and his spent much of his career in a platoon role, using his 6-foot-4 230-pound frame all over the ice. His 15 goals ranks second in the league to Abbotsford's Mateo Toledo (16) and is already well past his previous best campaign of nine. Bogress, 17, is the PJHL's leading candidate for rookie-of-the-year. He is 10th in league scoring with 22 points, including 12 goals.
No one predicted this kind of production, even Ice Hawks head coach Darren Naylor, who put the pair together on a line with promising centre Jonathan Stein.
"Trotman is having the time of his life," smiled Naylor. "Basically it's such a young team and he and (Cam) Cuthbert, along with a couple of others, are like the big brothers in the group. The reason I wanted him on the line was to open things up off the cycle for Stein. He started scoring and hasn't stopped since."
Bogress arrived at the Ice Hawks training camp in August coming off a couple seasons with South Delta's top midget team. His roster spot was by no means a certainty.
"I have a scouting background and I look for kids with skating (ability). Bogress is not the nicest skater in the world but I also keep track of goals too," recalled Naylor. "In training camp scrimmages it was like two or three goals for him every time. I thought, okay, we will keep him through to the next stage and it was still two to three goals. He just hasn't stopped.
"He has very good offensive instincts and his skating style actually suits him because he is able to protect the puck and he opens his hips. He has been well-coached in minor hockey."
Trotman and Bogress were never teammates in minor hockey due to their age difference but it's hard to tell. Throw in Stein's playmaking ability - he has 12 assists - and there is terrific chemistry between the trio.
"Bogey loves to go down to the gritty areas and look for the open pass and I'm always up high looking for one-timers or a shot," explained Trotman. "(Stein) brings a lot of skill with some good hands and speed. He is another guy trying to make a point so he has a lot of grit as well."
Trotman is still getting used to his reputation as a sniper. He has never been a goal scorer his entire career in hockey.
"I have always been the big guy," he laughed. "Definitely being my fourth year (in the league) has helped. You just notice more things and where to go. You get that game sense because you have done it so much more since you were 16."
Bogress' goal-scoring ability didn't take flight until his second season with the Midget Storm. It was enough to be affiliated with the Ice Hawks but he didn't get a chance to play for them.
"I was always the set up guy until last year with South Delta when I turned into more of a goal scorer," said the 6-foot-2 Delta Secondary Grade 12 student, who needed extensive dental work after taking a puck to the mouth in last Saturday's win in Port Moody. "I got some good bounces in training camp and it has just kept going from there."
Trotman finally got a chance to taste some playoff success last season when the Hawks upset defending champion North Vancouver in the opening round. Now, he is looking to conclude his junior career with his hometown team being a legitimate championship contender.
"Darren knew a lot of these (young) guys and they are skilled," he added. "You could tell at the beginning of the year there was a little bit of nerves and shyness coming into the league. But after five or 10 games you could see the pace pick up as they started to know how the games go.
"There is still lots of spots we can pick up our game but the chemistry is there. We are playing really good hockey right now."
Icing.. The Ice Hawks are in the midst of their toughest stretch of the season - playing the four teams right with them in the overall standings. They travel to Abbotsford Friday to take on the Pilots (13-7-0), then visit Grandview Sunday to face the 12-4-4 Steelers. On Tuesday, the surging Richmond Sockeyes (10-6-1) visit Ladner at 7:35 p.m.
