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Victoria Royals’ alumni learning pro game

That ECHL divisional championship banner hanging from the rafters of Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, from Victoria Salmon Kings days, serves as a silent reminder to the young men on the Victoria Royals that the route to the fulfilment of their dreams

That ECHL divisional championship banner hanging from the rafters of Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, from Victoria Salmon Kings days, serves as a silent reminder to the young men on the Victoria Royals that the route to the fulfilment of their dreams could be circuitous.

Of the four Royals who graduated from the Western Hockey League team last season, the two who are NHL draft picks are having to go through the ECHL in their rookie-pro seasons.

Forward Steven Hodges, a 2012 third-round pick signed by the Florida Panthers, began the season with the American Hockey League farm team San Antonio Rampage but struggled with one goal, one assist and a minus-four rating in 23 games and has been relegated to the ECHL affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones. The centre seems to have found his stride in Cincy with three goals, an assist and plus-one rating in six games.

“It’s a learning curve [as a rookie] in the pro game … against better defences [than in junior] who are right on you,” said Hodges.

“I’m learning the structure of the pro game. Everyone can play their positions so well. There’s more of an attention to detail up here.”

Nobody wants to drop to the ECHL. But if they do, players are glad it’s there as a safety net from which to springboard back up.

“It’s definitely been a confidence builder [to start scoring points in the ECHL] after being on the fourth line as a defensive player in the AHL,” said Hodges, whose WHL career included one season in Chilliwack and three seasons in Victoria.

“The ECHL is a good league to learn to play the pro game correctly. There’s a lot of skill here. It’s a good development league. I’m going to do my best to get called back up [to the AHL].”

If it’s any consolation, Hodges can content himself in the knowledge that 18 Cyclones have gone on to play in the NHL since 2006-07, including Kelly Cup champion and ECHL poster boy David Desharnais of the Montreal Canadiens.

Minnesota-native Logan Nelson, drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the fifth round in 2012 but not signed, has had a decent rookie pro season in the ECHL. Royals fans recall his WHL style over three seasons as sandpaper mixed with a dash of champagne. Nelson has eight goals, 17 points and a plus-six rating in 30 games for the Quad City Mallards.

The 2014 Royals grad who has so far managed to stick in the AHL is forward Ben Walker, whose raw speed and tenacity have kept him on the St. John’s IceCaps roster with a goal and an assist but minus-9 rating over his first 23 games as a pro.

“You tell the [WHL] players to not underestimate the AHL and how tough it is to play there,” said Royals head coach Dave Lowry.

Only when you are demoted to the ECHL does that become apparent.

“[Graduating WHLers] should not undervalue how good the AHL is. It’s a different style. In some ways it’s a lot more physical [than even the NHL] and the travel is a lot harder. There are three types of AHLers: The top prospects looking to the NHL; the career AHL guys for whom that will be their pinnacle; and the guys who are up and down between the AHL and ECHL.”

It’s a process players must go through if they have chosen the North American pro route.

“Very few players come out of junior and go straight to the NHL,” noted Lowry, whose own son, 2012-13 WHL MVP Adam Lowry, spent his rookie-pro season in the AHL with the IceCaps before jumping to the Winnipeg Jets this season as an NHL rookie.

European pro hockey is another option. That’s where 2014 Royals-graduate Patrik Polivka is playing this season in his native Czech Republic as the third goaltender on Plzen HC, where he has made one appearance, making 21 saves and allowing four goals in his pro debut.

Others take a different route through the Canadian university CIS, which is where defenceman and 2013-14 Royals captain Jordan Fransoo is playing on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies with three goals, five points and a minus-5 rating in 16 games.

Former Royals team MVP and scoring-champion Jamie Crooks, an undrafted silent assassin who graduated from the WHL in 2013, had 25 points and a plus-16 rating in 28 games for the 2014 CIS champion University of Alberta Golden Bears and has 10 points and a plus-7 rating in 19 games this season for the top-ranked Golden Bears.

“The CIS is a very good league and some late bloomers come out it [to later go pro],” noted Lowry.