VOORHEES – When your general manager tells you to do something.
You do it. Whatever it is. No matter how hard it may be.
That was the case when Ron Hextall informed Ivan Provorov last September that he was being returned to the Brandon Wheat Kings, his junior hockey club. Sure, it was a bit disappointing for the then-recently drafted first round pick, but Provorov, before walking out the door, was told to do something.
“Go back to Brandon and be the best defenseman in junior hockey,” Hextall told him.
Of course, that’s a lot easier said than when there’s three major junior hockey leagues in Canada (CHL) from the QMJHL to the WHL and the OHL. That’s 60 teams altogether. Give each team three defensive pairs for a total of six players starting, and you’re looking at 360 defenseman.
Hextall wanted Provorov to be THE guy. The best of the best. The No. 1 guy in the CHL.
He did just that, as evidenced by his selection as the CHL Defenseman of the Year.
“So Ivan goes back to Brandon and he is the best defenseman in junior hockey,” Hextall continued. “Then he comes to camp and plays real well. So he’s made this team.”
Simple, right?
Sounds easier than it was. A 73-point season doesn’t just happen when commanded to. Yet, that’s how Provorov is. He does what he’s told, and in this case, what he was told to do, he did, and it earned him his first ever spot on an NHL roster at the ripe age of 19-years-old along with teammate Travis Konecny.
“When you look at Provorov, he sets his own pace. There’s not many players that can do that… as a 19-year old, it’s pretty impressive. To set your own pace and how you want to play, it’s really hard. Sometimes you get sucked into a game and play someone else’s game but he always plays his game. His poise with the puck on the blue lines and on breakouts, it’s impressive.”
Impressive enough to convince his general manager, but then again, how could Hextall not be impressed when Provorov answered the bell.
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