Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
How soon does Jagger Firkus fit into the picture?
For two years, he has teased curious onlookers with his skill, his touch, and even his nickname.
“The Circus” is more than a moniker applied to a show administered by the great Ringing Brothers, P.T. Barnum, and James Anthony Bailey. You’ll know it around the Puget Sound, the WHL, and (presumably, very soon) Coachella Valley for Jagger Firkus.
He is 5-foot-10, shy of 160 pounds, was nearly picked in the first round after Shane Wright two years ago, and has outscored his weight in career major junior points totals.
“A high end offensive player,” said Coachella Valley Firebirds head coach Derek Laxdal on Firkus, who pretty much removed all doubt that
“A huge step” is what Laxdal used to describe Firkus – not from last season to this year – instead, from the first game to the second of a weekend preseason tournament in Los Angeles.
With Seattle Kraken rookie camp concluding on Tuesday at Kraken Community Iceplex, Laxdal sees the bigger picture.
“When you're a high scorer like that, you have a lot of defensive deficiencies,” said Laxdal. “That's one thing we're going to have to correct with some of these players is going forward, is for these players to play in the National Hockey League, to get a chance to play, they have to be able to survive defensively in the game.”
Very likely, Firkus has done all the damage he can do at the major junior level. Laxdal removed doubt that he will play this season in Coachella Valley, stamped with an endorsement.
“We’re really looking forward to his development in CV,” said Laxdal.
Firkus is 20 years of age, where he is eligible to be one of three players to return to the Warriors in that age bracket. But Firkus last year cleaned house, toying with the league’s defenses and goaltending to the tune of 126 points, the WHL scoring title, league MVP honors, and an Ed Chynoweth Cup title – while racking up 32 points in 20 postseason games.
This time, the challenge will be steeper, and different.
“There’s still room for improvement but for the most part I’m pretty happy about it,” said Firkus after Sunday’s rookie camp defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Firkus was all over the scoresheet Sunday with a multi point effort and concluded the two-day trip to Los Angeles with four points.
“The last couple of games honestly it was about getting better and better each shift,” said Firkus after Sunday. “I was pretty happy about that. I think as the third period wound down, I was getting better.”
Though the point total for a pre-season tournament like this is insignificant for the big picture, the substance can be found in where Firkus was on the ice, according to Laxdal.
“I thought as the two games went along for Jagger, he paid attention to some of the little structure details of his game defensively and allowed him to be a little bit more successfully offensive,” said Laxdal. “Use him on the penalty kill.”
Laxdal added that a difference in how Firkus approaches physical contact may differ from someone built five inches and 50 pounds heavier. There’s a method to going into contact and winning battles for a puck or scoring chance, without getting physically overwhelmed and erased.
“We don't expect him to run anybody over, but he can dart in and dart out,” said Laxdal. “I think a great example for him is Brayden Point with Tampa. That should be a player that he models his game off of, and Brayden Point does a pretty good job.”
“He's fearless. He goes to those hard areas, which I've seen in two games.”
The blueprint is there. Likely, a lengthy building process is needed before Firkus is NHL ready. But rookie camp is a test of first impressions, where he passed.
Next up: main camp, where a circus of challenges awaits.