Game On Magazine 2017 Game On Magazine - Regular Season Edition | Page 20

Although not wanting to
talk much about his own
personal success by humbly
deflecting the praise to his
linemates, Ty Lewis has had
himself a monstrous first
half of the 2017-18 season.
With 19 goals and 61 points
in 37 games, Lewis has held
his spot within the top five
scorers across the league all
season. It may have helped
that his third-place Brandon
Wheat Kings have already
had three separate five-
plus game winning streaks
this season, including a
mammoth 10-game heater
in early December.
“The mood in the room is
really good, and guys have
been really happy coming to
the rink,” Lewis reflected. “We
have a really good mindset
going into games this year
compared to last year, and
we’re all really buying into
doing whatever it takes to
win. We did a great job of just
taking it one game at a time
– one shift at a time. We kind
of knew we weren’t going to
go 52-0 to end the year, as the
streak was bound to end at
some point. But you know, we
are just trying to win hockey
games night-after-night, and
have some fun in the process.”
For the kid who grew up
watching former Wheaties’
Brayden Schenn, Scott
Glennie, Mark Stone, Jordin
Tootoo and Matt Calvert
deliver every night, the former
Wheat Kings Midget AAA star
knows just how privileged he
is to play for his hometown.
“My dad was always really
big into hockey, and even
runs his own hockey school
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– so I was always out at the
rinks as a kid,” he said. “It’s
definitely a dream come true
to have this opportunity
to play here; every kid in
Brandon looks up to the
guys playing for the Wheat
Kings, and someday dreams
of playing there themselves.
I was just fortunate enough
to get selected by Brandon
in the bantam draft.”
Although Lewis was
passed over in the 2017 NHL
Entry Draft, he received an
offer shortly after to attend
development camp with
the Colorado Avalanche
– an opportunity that he
claims changed his life.
“It was obviously a very
disappointing day for me
when I wasn’t selected, but I’ve
had a lot of tough bounces in
my hockey career,” Lewis said.
“I just took the opportunity
as a chance to prove people
wrong. I went down to Colorado
a few days after the draft and
they really gave me lots to
work on. They have done so
much for my game, which is
probably a big reason why I’m
having so much success this
year. I was fortunate enough
to sign with the Avalanche,
and couldn’t be happier to go
to such a great organization.”
And regarding the rest of
this 2017-18 WHL season?
“I take a lot of pride in my
work ethic on and off the
ice, so I think I did a good
job preparing myself for this
season, and fortunately the
team has had a really good
start,” he said. “Hopefully
we can keep that going here
in the second half.” ❍