At six-foot-six, Axel Blomqvist tends to stand out in a crowd.
There’s no doubt his Victoria Royals linemates, Brandon Magee and Steven Hodges, have had an easy time picking him out of a group as the WHL club’s No. 1 line has been a handful of late.
The trio had 19 points in a two-game weekend set against Prince George with Blomqvist — already signed by the Winnipeg Jets — tallying four times, three coming in Friday’s 8-1 win in which he left the game in the second period due to a hit to the head.
“I feel really good, finding some chemistry with Mags and Hodges,” said Blomqvist. “I know Mags and Hodges are two guys who are really fast and skilled.
“I just want to make space for them and I know I can make plays, too. I’m just going to keep my stick on the ice and hopefully score some goals.”
The Osby, Sweden, native has now scored in three straight games and has seven goals and 11 assists in 14 outings since coming to Victoria in a trade from Lethbridge. In total, he has 15 goals and 31 points in 33 games.
The line is streaking at an opportune time as Magee has worked magic the past month with seven goals and 10 assists in eight games. Magee has now scored in four straight games.
“He started scoring goals and feeling good about himself,” Royals head coach Dave Lowry said of Magee. “He’s an offensive guy.
“I know the first 20 games weighed heavily on him. He has a lot of pride. He went back to work, simplified his game and has been able to find results.”
Meanwhile, Hodges has proven to be the leader he was expected to be after starting the year on the injury list. He now has six goals and 13 assists in 22 games, with a franchise-tying five-point night on Friday, and two more on Saturday.
He’s skating well, along with Magee, and finding Blomqvist in the right spots.
Lowry is also benefiting from secondary scoring as Victoria native Jack Palmer, like Blomqvist, has now scored in three straight games.
Ben Walker has continued to shine on both ends of the ice, providing eight goals and three assists in 10 games in December. Austin Carroll remains the team’s leader in goals with 20 and goaltender Coleman Vollrath is coming off the two weekend wins and leads the league in goals-against average at 1.99 and save percentage at .940.
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