Mitch Maxwell is having a pretty darn good first season in the WHL.The local product from Magrath notched his second hatrick of his rookie season in what was a 7-5 loss in Calgary earlier this week. Maxwell leads the Hurricanes with 22 goals in 44 games and is also a +3. He's now moved up to 8th in overall in rookie scoring and is actually 3rd amongst all WHL rookies in goals.
I spoke with Mitch earlier this week.
Pat: What do attribute your success to this year?
Maxwell: "I don't know. A little bit of luck, some hard work and playing with good line mates. Playing with Bancks, I've never seen someone who can pass the puck like him and Austin Fyten has been playing great as of late too. A lot of just puck luck I guess and going to the net hard."
Pat: I know some of the media here gave you a bit of a hard time because before Tuesday, you had scored 18 of your 19 goals here at home and just one on the road. Now you go into Calgary and net a hatrick. Kind of ironic isn't it?
Maxwell: "Yeah it is! Even my mom and dad were bugging me a little bit about it too and some of teammates, so it was nice to finally score some goals on the road and hopefully I can keep doing it the rest of the year".
Pat: What's it like playing at home in front of family and friends?
Maxwell: "It's a pleasure to have that every night here in Lethbridge. There's a lot of talk around family get-togethers about the Hurricanes, so it's exciting especially with my little brother Russ being drafted by Lethbridge and hopefully he'll be playing here one day too. It's been great. I've had a lot of support especially with my family the way they are with hockey. I've got about six coaches up in the stands here which helps a lot! They all know what they're talking about, so they can give me little hints here and there".
Pat: Let's look ahead to next season for a moment. You'll be an overage player on this Lethbridge team. Leaders like Carter Bancks will be moving on. What type of roll do expect to play here next season?
Maxwell: "Being an overage guy next season, I might be in only my second season (in the WHL), but I definitely want to step into a leadership role more, probably more than I am this year. I'm going to have to contribute next season probably as much or more than I have this year on and off the ice. We're still going to be a fairly young team next season, but we'll also have more experience which is going to help."
There's a poll on the WHL web page that asks who is having the best rookie season. 8 players are listed there, but no mention of Maxwell. The reason I would assume is because he's 19 and older than the others. I don't think age should matter really. A rookie is a rookie is the way I see it regardless of age.
I think Maxwell has been a huge bright spot for a team that has struggled offensively this season. Like Fred Jack said on our broadcast the other night, "Where would the Hurricanes be offensively without Mitch Maxwell?" I'd have to agree. I think maybe he deserves more credit than he gets!
Thanks,
Pat
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