They don’t hand out player awards in the preseason in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).
But if there was an Outstanding Player Award, there’s a good chance it would’ve gone to the Humboldt Broncos Jacob Strizzi.
In his only two preseason games, Strizzi led the entire the league in goals (6), with a pair of hat-trick performances.
Even though it’s been a solid start for the 20-year-old, he’s more concerned about the regular season.
“It's always fun and great to have some success, but at the end of the day, it's still preseason, and I want to translate that into the season and hopefully help this team with a championship this year.”
The moment Strizzi stepped on to the ice in fall camp, it was evident that his competitive juices were flowing. He says it’s vital to maintain a competitive edge during practices.
“At the end of the day, I've always been taught it's you practice how you play, and the harder you are with your teammates, the easier it is in games, and I feel your best competition is the guys in practice, especially in this room here.”
With the changing landscape in junior hockey, there could’ve been plenty of options this summer for the 6’2 205 lb forward to play somewhere else but he elected to remain for the Broncos in his final season of junior hockey.
Associate Coach Carter Hansen said following Friday’s preseason win where Strizzi scored a natural hat trick that the team feels fortunate to have him back.
“You never know if someone like that is moving on to bigger and better opportunity, we’re so happy to him back.”
Hansen added that he was in constant communication with Strizzi during the summer and it was evident that he wanted to be back in Humboldt.
“He’s been dialed in since day one, he’s been itching to get into a game.”
The preseason wasn’t the first time that the Vaughan, ON product was near the top in the league standings for points. Last year, Strizzi finished third overall in the league in points (71) and was sixth in goals (28).
Strizzi feels that in order to take his game to the next level, he just has to continue his current path and that will soon lead to glory for himself and the Broncos.
“I think it's all the same, same pregame things, trusting the guys around me, trusting the coaching staff.”
Individual accolades would be nice, but Strizzi says he would gladly trade it all to win a championship.
“If I take a step back, I know there's a lot of guys in this room who can help put up numbers and I'm comfortable with that.”
Strizzi and the Broncos will begin their season on Friday night when they travel to Warman to take on the Wolverines in their first game in franchise history.