Austin Pratt made a decision last year that would affect the rest of his hockey career.
Instead of looking at a scholarship to a U.S. school, the Lakeville, Mn., native decided to take a change and move to Canada to try out for the Red Deer Rebels.
“I looked at all my options and weighed the benefits of playing in the NCAA, the USHL and here and ultimately the Western Hockey League was best for me,” he explained.
It ‘s proving to be the right decision.
After a “good” rookie season the 17-year-old is taking a regular shift this season and producing. In eight games he has two goals and three assists and a plus-two rating.
“It’s been good … I’ve been playing the way I have to and it’s working out for me lately,” he said. “It’s nice to take a regular shift, but it’s also one of those things you can’t take for granted. Once you do it starts to slip away. I want to prove on every shift that I deserve to be out there.”
Pratt came to the Rebels after a year with the Shattuck St. Mary’s U16 team where he had 20 goals and 32 assists in 55 games. In his WHL rookie season, he played 56 games, scoring eight goals and adding four assists, and was a plus-five.
“Obviously last year I would have liked to play even more, but I also knew the strength of the team,” he said. “I knew that even when I wasn’t playing I could watch the other guys and what they do and it definitely paid off.
“Watching people like (Adam) Musil and (Michael) Spacek and the hard work they put in on and off the ice helped.”
Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter didn’t expect Pratt to play a major role last season. It was a development year.
“As it for any 16 year-old coming in it’s a big step. They have so much to learn and I think he learned a lot. There were a lot of things he didn’t know. He had to learn to be committed to work, committed to nutrition. committed to training in the right way. A lot of kids are like that … he was no different.”
Pratt, who was picked in the fourth round and 75th overall in the 2014 WHL bantam draft, listened to Sutter and watched and learned. During the off season he not only played for the U.S. at the Hlinka U18 Memorial tournament (four games, one assist) but returned to Minnesota to work with a personal trainer. He also spent a day with Gary Roberts, who runs the Gary Roberts High Performance Centre and Fitness Institute in North York, Ont.
“I spent a day there and pulled Gary aside and talked about my diet,” he explained. “He helped me a lot and I took that back to my trainer in Minnesota.”
The six-foot-three Pratt lost 11 pounds and returned to the Rebels at a solid 205 pounds.
“I can feel it, I’m a lot faster and quicker than last year,” he said.
“He returned lighter and stronger,” said Sutter. “His body has more definition and he’s more defined as a player … something he can build off of. It allows him to grow on the physical side and at the same time he’s a better skater and quicker.
“The thing is he listened and is very coachable through it all.”
Pratt has the skill to be a quality power forward in the WHL. He also knows the role he has to play.
“I won’t be classified as a skill guy, so I have to try to use my strength and size to my advantage,” he said. “I have to play the way I know I can and try to build on that every day and at the end of the year help the team and myself.”
Pratt has already received some recognition as he was on the Central Scouting’s players to watch list.
“It’s cool to be recognized, but it’s still early and I can’t think about that yet. I have to keep working and hopefully I can climb the ranks.”
Sutter knows players do look at the fact they’re in their draft year, but they have bigger things to concentrate on.
“Sure it’s their draft year, but it’s even a bigger year in that they have to definite themselves as a player … what they are. I think that’s coming with Austin and he’s showing what he is.
“I’ve liked Austin’s game from the start. The nice thing is he can play right wing, centre, on the power play or kill penalties. He’s useful in a lot of different situations.”
Danny Rode is a retired Advocate reporter who can be reached at drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com. His work can also be seen at Danny’s blog at rdcathletics.ca