Scott’s sensational start; Lees’ league rivaling stats

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Among goaltenders his age in the WHL, Scott seems to be leaps and bounds ahead. He is just one of three 1999-born goaltenders currently on a WHL roster and is the only one that regularly sees the ice. The others are Jordan Hollett, who has had one start and one relief appearance this year with the Regina Pats, and David Tendeck, who has yet to see any game action with the Vancouver Giants. 

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When asked if he thought he’d have success this early, Scott smiled and said, “You do think of it, but it’s nice to see all the work’s paying off.”

Scott has picked up wins in all of his last five appearances, dating back Oct. 16 in a 7-4 relief win against the Spokane Chiefs. More importantly, Scott has won the last two games the Raiders have played to get them out of a 1-3-2 slide—last Sunday over the Brandon Wheat Kings in Brandon 3-2 and 4-1 over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Tuesday.

“I think I’m just working on the consistency part,” added Scott. “Getting the streak of wins is good, and to get the boys back on track is good. I just have to continue what I’ve been doing to have that same success going forward.

“I was going through video [on Thursday], and I’ve noticed I’ve had more trust in the D-core watching the back door and stuff like that, so I can challenge the puck a little more. That’s nice to have.

“I think we’ve bonded even more now that it’s coming up to half of the year.”

Jesse Lees confirmed that, adding he and the team have a lot of confidence in Scott and veteran goaltender Rylan Parenteau when they’re out on the ice.

Lees has helped out the Raiders on both sides on the ice, not just in his own zone. He has two goals and six points in his last four games, while sporting a +3 rating.

Lees is currently sixth in scoring among WHL defencemen with 21 points in 22 games. His +16 is third best among WHL skaters as well.

“Any chance I can, I like to help out the team and create offence,” said Lees, the 20-year-old defenceman the Raiders acquired last season from the Kelowna Rockets. “It’s going well, the guys around me are doing a great job of getting me the puck and getting open, so it’s working well.”

Lees will hope that he can keep up his offence production on Saturday against the Regina Pats. The last time the two teams met, Lees scored the overtime winning goal in a 2-1 extra period game Oct. 25 in Regina.

“It should be a good game,” said Lees. “We’ve got the winning way back in our system a little bit. We’re finding a way to win and having success with it. It’s an exciting time.”

jdandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea