ABBOTSFORD, BC – Kraken prospect Jagger Firkus leads the Firebirds in scoring and is tied for eighth in total points among all American Hockey League skaters. The 2022 second-rounder is averaging a point per game and is on pace to surpass his AHL rookie season production in the second half of January.
But what the 2023 Western Hockey League Player of the Year wanted to discuss after a recent skate Saturday morning in Abbotsford, BC, was his growth as a 200-meter athlete that his Firebirds coach, Derek Laxdal, and the Kraken coach are experiencing. Lane Lambert, both encourage: The best offense is the defense that wins the puck back.
“Lax is very good at letting me know that if you’re good in the D-zone, that’s where our offensive opportunities happen,” said Firkus, a 21-year-old who is on the expected track for the Kraken’s player development. “He tells you, stay in place, track, and reload by riding pucks. [the Kraken] it’s playing. I enjoy it.”
“Firk is an underachieving young kid,” Laxdal said in the visiting coaches’ room the weekend of two recent games at BC “But he’s doing a lot of good things for us off the puck. He’s done well in camp … it’s great when a young player starts doing the right things on the defensive end to get rewarded in another way.”
Laxdal added that Firkus is still learning. That there will be times when he will want to park on the side of the net rather than in front of it.
“You can see that when he is in the front, he is able to collect some of them [goals].”
Kraken director of player development Cory Murphy credited the coaching staff with teaching Firkus “the importance of those little details” and how they add to his overall game. “It’s important to note that Firk now understands that playing an honest game at both ends of the ice leads to him having more puck because he is fighting puck battles in all areas,” said Murphy.
I can’t forget his Goal Touch
It’s not that defensive struggles lead to Firkus ignoring talented offensive opportunities on the power play or in the CVF first power play unit. That same Saturday night in Abbotsford, the Firebirds’ leading scorer was involved in every three-pointer that pushed the Firebirds to a shootout win, registering two goals and an assist. The first goal was a power play set up by fellow senior Oscar Fisker Molgaard.
In the second point, Firkus burst down the right side of the offensive line to head home after teammate and summer trade JR Avon nearly beat the Abbotsford keeper with his first shot. Meyers’ tying goal with a half minute left in regulation was made possible by Firkus and star defenseman Tyson Jugnauth riding the puck to put Meyers in position for a quick bullseye shot.
The Confidence Game
One improvement in Firkus’ overall game is his ability to win puck battles in all areas, especially in the corners. The Kraken hockey team has seen it, and members of the media have been complaining about similar observations during camp and NHL preseason games. Firkus, 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, is about 20 pounds heavier than when he was selected 35th overall in 2022. His physical success in puck battles at the AHL level strengthens the young forward’s mentality. He’s always been known to score (how does 158 points in 83 regular season and playoff games his final WHL year sound like Moose Jaw?).
“I’m definitely more confident handling the puck now,” said Firkus, who is only 21 years old. “Even playing fast, I think if you can’t defend, make the play quick around the guy to get teammates, you can’t give your teammates room with the puck. I’m looking to make plays for teammates, too.”
