With a little help from his teammate, Jordy Engelson is headed to the upcoming Pacific Junior Hockey League Prospects Game after all.
The 17-year-old goaltender for the Delta Ice Hawks improved to 16-0-0-0 Tuesday night in a 5-0 victory over the Langley Trappers in Ladner. It was his third shutout of the season. He also leads the league in goals against average and save percentage.
However, due to his limited starts at the time, Engelson was left off the Tom Shaw Conference Team for the Prospects Game, slated for Jan. 29 in Abbotsford. Instead, number one stopper Jordan Naylor was given the honour on top of already being named a starter for the league’s all-star game which was played on Monday night.
When Naylor, who turned 18 this week, was sidelined for a couple of weeks with an injury last month, it increased Engelson’s workload significantly,. It put him well past the minimum eligibility, but after the rosters had been named. Naylor pleaded to the league to make an exception.
“I am thankful for the opportunity given to me to play in both the PJHL All-Star and Prospects Games. Having said that, I feel personally well-enough represented playing in just the All-Star Game, and I feel no one is more deserving to take my spot in the Prospects Game than my goalie partner, Jordy Engleson. He has had an amazing season as a rookie goalie, and in my option, he deserves to be showcased as an elite prospect,” Naylor wrote.
The league listened and agreed — giving his spot to the 17-year-old Vancouver Thunderbirds product.
Engleson will be joined on the Tom Shaw team by defensemen Magnus Chung, Isiah Henricks and Liam Visram, along with forwards Jonathan Rees and Michael Araki-Young.
Naylor helped the Tom Shaw Conference cruise to a 14-3 win over the Harold Brittian Conference in the PJHL All-Star Game. Delta was also represented by captain Gary Dhaliwal, Jordan Deyrmenjian, Daniel Rubin and Gabriel LaBlanc.
Delta travels to Port Moody on Saturday and host Abbotsford on Tuesday at 7:35 p.m.
