"You don’t want to hurt their confidence, but he was kind of forced into that situation and did a phenomenal job with it.”
Jordan Keller’s season experienced a Daylight Savings effect of sorts.
His time clock got pushed ahead by one year as a rookie on the Saskatoon Blades this season in the Western Hockey League.
A slew of injuries at the forward position resulted in extra playing time, and a much bigger role than expected, for the 2005-born forward, who turned 18 earlier this month.
“He did such a good job of it. He’s just really smart. He’s so brainy. He did a phenomenal job with the injuries and he’s earned where he’s at right now.”
“It’s a good experience and it’s really nice to get the opportunity to play a little bit more against the bigger guys,” said the 5-foot-10, 156-pound Keller. “It’s been good.”
By necessity, Keller’s timetable got rushed.
“I think so,” Sonne said. “For 17-year-olds, you don’t really want them having to play against the (Conor) Geekies of the world, or the (Ryder) Korczaks of the world, or the (Connor) Bedards of the world. You don’t want to hurt their confidence, but he was kind of forced into that situation and did a phenomenal job with it.”
Keller finished the regular season with 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points and a plus-12 rating in 66 games this season.
“Really good hands and vision,” said Sonne. “Really good puck protection and stick-lifting. And his shot is real sneaky. You should see some of the goals he scored this year. He’s got a laser of a shot.”
Keller got a taste of the WHL last season, playing eight games during the regular season in which he scored one goal.
“I learned a lot,” he said, looking back. “It’s obviously a tougher league. Getting a few games in definitely helped me for this year so it was great.”
Keller has been given different roles and played different positions this season, most recently lining up at center with wingers Jake Chiasson and Conner Roulette.
“I’ve actually played center pretty much my whole life growing up,” noted Keller. “Playing wing at the start of the year, that was actually pretty new to me, so switching back to center was actually not too bad. It’s good.
“The season’s been good. We’re obviously excited for playoffs. Regina’s a pretty good team, so we’re going to be ready for that.”
JAPANESE HOCKEY ROOTS
Keller was born in Japan and spent the first 12 years of his life there, where his dad, Aaron, played hockey professionally for 17 years after spending four years with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and one year of minor pro in North America.
He holds dual Canadian-Japanese citizenship.
“My dad was my coach for a few years,” Jordan said. “I learned a lot from him, too, so it was good. There’s a lot of great skaters there (in Japan), actually. In Canada, they’re probably more skilled, but skating over there is really good. I learned a lot from there.”
Jordan said he started skating and playing hockey in Japan when he was just three years old.
“I was pretty young,” he said. He moved back to his dad’s hometown of Kamloops, B.C. for the start of his teenage years.
Keller was billeted in Abbotsford, B.C. while he attended the Yale Hockey Academy for three years.
“It was awesome. A great program. Great billet family. I still keep in touch with them. The team was awesome, the coaching staff. I learned a lot from there.”
PLAYOFFS UP NEXT
Keller hopes to rise to the occasion come playoff time.
“Obviously, for getting a chance to play with some bigger and older guys, I just have to play the right way, be responsible in the D zone and just help the team as much as possible,” said Keller, who continues to work on his D-zone coverage while trying to be stronger with his body and stick and “just help battle the bigger guys.”
“He’s a great player,” said Keller. “We’ve just got to shut him down and play our game.”
The key to success, he added, is “just playing our game and competing against these guys.”
Confidence is high.
Keller’s timetable is now.
“For sure. We all believe in each other and we’re super-tight,” he said. “For sure, we’re ready for a war.”
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