Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Watt has been a bright spot

Spokane Chiefs goalie Jim Watt is off to a solid start this season; the numbers don’t lie.

He is the Western Hockey League’s eighth-best goalie, statistically, through six games. All of his numbers are superior to his final ones for last season.

But Watt says there’s only one mark he cares about: 2-4.

That’s Spokane’s record after the first of its two road games this week. The Chiefs lost at Everett on Wednesday and travel on Saturday to meet Tri-City. The Chiefs have lost three straight but are in a two-way tie for third place in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference. Watt is a big reason they have been in every game.

“I think with team success comes individual success,” Watt said, repeating his coach’s mantra.

“I’m not going to lie to you. Everyone on the team is looking for a little bit of individual success, (but) we have to worry about getting the team into first place. I could have the best goals-against and saves percentage, but we could still not make playoffs.”

Watt, 19, didn’t have the type of season he wanted to have last season, and neither did his team. The Chiefs didn’t make the playoffs as Watt struggled, but he has clearly come back more focused.

Watt has carried the offensively challenged Chiefs at times this season with some spectacular saves. He has especially come up big in short-handed situations or when his defenders have made a mistake and allowed an opponent a point-blank shot.

It’s been needed. The Chiefs have been outshooting their opponents on a regular basis but are not putting it into the net. They are averaging only two goals per game but have been tough on defense (12 scored, 14 allowed).

Watt says he’s up to the challenge.

“(Chiefs coach) Bill (Peters) has high expectations of me, and I’m trying to fulfill them,” Watt said. “Right now, I can’t take a game off. … If I’ve got to stand on my head for another 10, 12 games and get those wins, so be it. … We’ll start putting the puck in the net, and when we do, we’ll be a scary team.”

Watt, who posted his team-record ninth career shutout already, says the play in front of him has helped.

“Me and the defense this year really have a good connection with each other, on and off the ice,” he said. “It just seems to be coming together. As long as I just get that first shot, they seem to have the second shot, which makes it a hundred times easier for me. I’ve got to give them just as much credit for the shutout.”

Utility man

Spokane’s J.P. Szaszkiewicz is the hockey equivalent of a utility player.

He has played every position this season but one – goalie – and Peters is not likely to give him that chance. But he’s put him everywhere else, including defense in last Saturday night’s game with Prince Albert after Sean Zimmerman was given a game misconduct.

Szaszkiewicz also played defense for the short-handed Chiefs in the Tri-City preseason tournament, and he held his own on both occasions. It’s a sign of the confidence Peters has in the player he coached last season at the World Under-17 Challenge.

“I feel like if I go out there and make a mistake, he won’t just bench me,” said Szaszkiewicz. “I’ll have a chance to get back out there and redeem myself, which is nice.”

For his part, Szaszkiewicz said he’s willing to do whatever his coach asks.

“It was kind of fun,” he said. “If they need me back there, I’m happy to go back and play defense every once in a while. I think I can play anywhere. I think wherever I can contribute, at any time, I’m happy to do it.”

Teaching resiliency

A lot of work with a team happens off the ice, in team meetings, where Peters and assistant coach Kevin Sawyer are working to make their team more resilient.

“We’ve talked about how something’s going to go wrong in a game … and then, when it happens, how are you going to handle it?” said Peters. “Hockey is a game of mistakes, and when they happen, you’ve got to flush it. You can’t compound it by making another mistake.”

Against Prince Albert on Saturday night, Spokane took a 1-0 lead before the Raiders rallied for three straight goals.

“When we had the lead against P.A., then they scored, a little bit of the wind came out of our sails. We can’t allow that to happen,” Peters said.