Friday 13 October 2017

Forsberg rediscovers offensive touch from past with Huskies

Jesse Forsberg has become a star offensive defenceman with the Huskies.
    It was a “Back to the Future” type season for Jesse Forsberg who has relived his minor hockey days offensively with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s team.
    In his third year with the Huskies in 2016-17, the 24-year-old Waldheim product broke out as an offensive defenceman. Appearing in all 28 of his team’s regular season games, Forsberg topped all defencemen in Canada West conference scoring netting career highs with 11 goals and 16 assists.
    He was also a plus-eight in the plus-minus department, named a Canada West first team all-star, captured honours as the Mervyn “Red” Dutton trophy winner as the top defenceman in Canada West and was named a second team all-Canadian all-star.
    Forsberg’s production bettered all but one of the five complete seasons in the WHL. The last time he was near a point a game pace was in his only full season in the midget AAA ranks in 2008-09, when he picked up eight goals and 33 assists in 44 regular season games with the Beardy’s Blackhawks.
Jesse Forsberg works with the puck along the wall for the Huskies.
    In his first appearance with the Huskies this season last Saturday, Forsberg recorded a goal and two assists in a 6-0 victory over the University of Regina Cougars at the ancient Rutherford Rink.
    “It has been a lot of fun,” said Forsberg, who stands 6-feet and weighs 226 pounds. “Obviously, I was given a little more opportunity. I took it in full stride.
    “I am part of a really good power play unit, so that helps. I think I am just poised with the puck, and I don’t give it away.
    “I’ve always liked to jump into the play. I’ve got a little more confidence and a little more opportunity.”
    Way back in the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft, Forsberg was selected in the first round and 11th overall by the Prince George Cougars. Over five seasons in the major junior ranks, Forsberg appeared in 296 career regular season games split between the Cougars, Seattle Thunderbirds and Moose Jaw Warriors collecting 24 goals, 83 assists and 619 career penalty minutes.
Jesse Forsberg works the point.
    When he made it to the WHL, his role changed. Forsberg became a defensive defenceman who also had a tough guy edge.
    His best campaign offensively came as an overager in 2013-14, when he had 10 goals and 26 assists split over 60 regular season games with the Thunderbirds and Warriors.
    “I think I kind of got type cast into a certain role in junior,” said Forsberg. “You go in when you are 16, (and) you are the young guy on the outs looking in.
    “After a couple of seasons playing a role that maybe you weren’t used to and pretty soon that is how you start playing, you find success at it. I found success at being a good defensive (defenceman) and being tough, so that is kind of the way I played until I was 19 and 20 where I found my offence again.
    “Obviously (last season), I got to take a few steps and be an offensive guy.”
    When Forsberg first arrived with the Huskies, he still played a defensive defenceman and tough guy role.
    Huskies head coach Dave Adolph, who saw Forsberg play in bantam and midget, believed the rearguard still had the talent to be a major contributor offensively. While the offensive breakout has come, the Huskies bench boss said Forsberg’s forte is still his play in his own zone.
    “He probably is a better shutdown defenceman than he is an offensive defenceman, because he is so intense,” said Adolph. “I think he has just been allowed to grow here, and it is not me.
Jesse Forsberg wheels up the ice with the puck.
    “He’s worked at his craft. He now plays on our power play. (In Forsberg’s second season), he wasn’t on our power play. He is deadly on the point.
    “He is just so passionate. There isn’t enough players in our game anymore that are passionate like him.”
    One of the drawbacks Forsberg had in his game was his temper, and opponents would often try to trigger that to draw him into a penalty. Forsberg’s temper came to the surface during his rookie year, when the Huskies were eliminated from the 2015 post-season.
    In the final seconds in a 3-0 first round series deciding Game 3 loss to the Mount Royal University Cougars in Calgary, Forsberg was involved in a scrum. He was given a major penalty for spitting at an official, and the incident came when Forsberg was trying to say something in the heat of a frantic moment.
    The incident resulted in a 10-game suspension. Adolph said the Cougars were trying to agitate his club during that contest, and they succeeded in getting the best of Forsberg.
    “Jesse, obviously, decided he was going to protect our whole team,” said Adolph. “He got a little rambunctious.
    “He was kind of demoralized about it. I told Jesse that if he could suck it up and handle that and if he could come back and be twice the guy, we would put a letter on him just for persevering.
Jesse Forsberg can play sound defensively in his own zone.
    “Ever since then, he has trusted us. He knew he wasn’t going to be in trouble, and he knew we were going to allow him to grow and be a good player.”
    Forsberg admitted it was gut check moment during that point in time.
    “I really had to pay for it,” said Forsberg. “It kind of slowed down my whole season.
    “I was late coming in. I kind of had trouble finding the pace right away. It was kind of a reality check to just make sure I play the game within the rules, even though in my mind I thought I did there.
    “It is just kind of a reality check. It was a big turning point for sure.”
    After returning to full-time duty in his sophomore season, Forsberg was named one of the Huskies assistant captains.
    “It was a big honour, especially as a second year guy to get to wear that,” said Forsberg. “I am a pretty vocal guy.
    “It is something I have always been used to doing on every team that I have been on. To come in and have that honour as a young guy like that was definitely huge. It kind of made me think about the big picture.”
Huskies D Jesse Forsberg has always enjoyed joining the rush up ice.
    After helping the Huskies finish first in Canada West for a second straight campaign posting a 21-5-2 record last season, Forsberg and his team faced Mount Royal in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series. The Cougars visibly tried to provoke Forsberg with subtle physical and verbal shots after the whistle, but the rearguard didn’t bite.
    In the two game sweep that saw the Huskies earn a berth to the University Cup national championship tournament in Fredericton, N.B., Forsberg didn’t take a single penalty.
    After helping the Huskies win the Canada West title and finish fourth at nationals in 2015-16, Forsberg experienced falling in the Canada West final 6-3 in a series deciding Game 3 at home against the U of Alberta Golden Bears last season.
    At the single-elimination University Cup tournament last March, the Huskies rebounded to down the York University Lions 1-0 in overtime in a quarter-final match and bomb the St. Francis University X-Men in 8-0 in a semifinal contest. The Dogs dropped a 5-3 heartbreaker to the powerhouse U of New Brunswick Varsity Reds in the championship final.
    Forsberg had a goal, an assist and was a plus-five in the Huskies three tournament games.
Jesse Forsberg celebrates scoring an OT winner for the Huskies last season.
 “I think we kind of had a different dynamic,” said Forsberg. “We’ve had different guys stepping up at different times.
    “You have to keep growing. You can’t be the same team over and over again. I think we’ve found that.”
    Away from the ice, Forsberg focuses on his studies in agriculture and bioresources. While he wants to be prepared to enter the working world after his time with the Huskies wraps up, he admits he would still like to take a crack at the professional ranks.
    “I think you are always keeping your options open,” said Forsberg, who is playing beside brother and skilled forward Alex with the Huskies this season. “Just keep playing for now and focus on winning here and getting an education, if the right opportunity come about, it would be hard to say no.”
    The Huskies (2-0) return to action tonight and Saturday when they host the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns (1-1) at 7 p.m. both nights at Rutherford.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.
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