In his 15th year as a hockey player, Curtis Lazar led Team B.C. to a gold medal in the Canada Winter Games while shattering scoring records held by Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos.
In year 16, the Vernon product trumped the Games’ glory by boosting the Edmonton Oil Kings to a Western Hockey League championship. He turned 17 in February and tied for sixth in playoff scoring, the only rookie in the top-20.
Next up for the down-to-planet forward is the MasterCard Memorial Cup in Quebec.
Win or lose in Shawinigan, and Lazar will remain grounded, modest and grateful. He realizes being a solid teammate is all that matters.
Lazar joined the Oil Kings for the 2011 playoffs when they were swept in the first round by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the Red Deer Rebels.
This year, after a 50-win regular-season, the Oil Kings won three rounds before ousting the Portland Winterhawks in seven games. Edmonton stopped the Hawks 4-1 Sunday night before a raucous crowd of 12,514 at Rexall Place.
“It was an interesting year,” said Lazar, who by Monday afternoon still hadn’t truly digested the championship feeling. “I had the odd stint on the top-six (forwards) and then I was put in a checking role. I went through a slump in February without a point in 15 games and then I went into the playoffs with a clean slate and was able to get 19 points.
“Credit the confidence (Derek Laxdal) the coach had in me. He won a Memorial Cup as a 16-year-old (1983 with Ray Ferraro, Cam Neely with Portland) and to see him so happy was great.
“He’s hard on us and he expects a lot from you, but he helped me through a couple of rough patches. He stayed hard on me and got me going.”
The Oil Kings celebrated their Ed Chynoweth Cup victory at a downtown Greek restaurant well into Monday morning. They went back to work Tuesday and flew to Quebec today.
“We got the day off school (Monday) and even today, you wake up and think, ‘We won the championship, but it doesn’t feel real yet. We overachieved this year; next year is supposed to be our run. We really wanted to finish the series off Saturday night in Portland, but couldn’t get it done. We got home at 5 a.m. slept all day, but then we fed off the fans who were awesome.”
Lazar recorded 20 goals and 31 points along with a plus-15 rating during the regular season. He added eight goals in 20 playoff games.
He and his linemates Henrik Samuelsson (Arizona) and Stephane Legault (Edmonton) laughed off some bouncing pucks in the early going and switched into defensive mode after the Oil Kings grabbed a 4-0 lead after 30 minutes.
“We have great depth and kudos to our checking line (anchored by 20-year-olds Rhett Rachinski and Jordan Peddle) who did a great job on (Sven) Bartschi and (Ty) Rattie. Those two are professional hockey players, but we weren’t intimidated.”
Edmonton assistant coach Steve Hamilton, who was bench boss with the Spruce Grove Saints in back-to-back Doyle Cup losses to the Vernon Vipers, realizes Lazar is an extraordinary talent.
“Obviously, it’s a difficult year for a young guy coming into this league, but Curtis came into a deep hockey club and his stats didn’t necessarily reflect his contributions in the regular season,” said Hamilton. “Curtis has the versatility to play with anyone and on any line and make them better.
“He’s unique in that he does what he does without letting the spotlight affect him.”
Edmonton Oiler president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe, whose son Keegan, plays defence for the Oil Kings, addressed the team before Game 7, urging them to win for the graduating 20-year-olds.
“We went into the game thinking it was a gold-medal game,” said Lazar. “Our general manager, Bob Green, came down and was joking around. We were pretty loose and we knew if we played our game, we’d be fine.”
Laurent Brossoit registered 19 saves and posted a 2.82 GAA and a .910 save percentage in the final series. The 19-year-old Surrey product, a former Cowichan Valley Capital, was named playoff MVP.
“He’s laid back and always joking around,” said Lazar, about the acrobatic Oil Kings’ net detective. “And he’s the last one to get dressed for the game.”
Lazar gave props to captain Mark Pysyk for keeping the Oil Kings relaxed and ready Sunday and all season.
“He keeps us all in the loop and just how he plays, matched up against Bartschi and Rattie, is amazing. He’s so poised on the ice; there is no sense of panic with him.”
The Oil Kings join the host Cataractes, who haven’t played in a few weeks, the OHL champion London Knights and the Quebec league and defending Memorial Cup champion Saint John Sea Dogs at the major junior tournament, starting Friday.
Edmonton (50-15-3-4) meets Shawinigan (45-16-3-4) Friday night before going up against Saint John (50-15-0-3) Monday and taking on London (49-18-0-1) Tuesday.
