Every now and then things fall into place for player and team to find the right fit.
In need of a shot of offensive skill, the Okotoks Bisons found what they sought in forward Josh McCulloch who’s on pace to put up the most points on the Heritage Junior Hockey League club in the past five seasons.
“It’s just confidence, that’s all it is,” McCulloch said. “I’ve played two years of Junior A, the last two, and I came in here expecting myself to be the leading guy and that’s kind of what the coaches wanted me for.
“I thought why not? I’m going to school now, have some fun.”
A veteran of 72 games in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with the Calgary Mustangs, the 200-pound forward is producing at an over two points per game clip in his first season in the Heritage.
“He probably shouldn’t be playing for us, he probably should be in the AJ,” said Bisons coach Blake Wildeman. “With his abilities, he’s got a little more time and space. He’s got an unbelievable shot which he uses.
“He brings a calmness. You don’t see him get involved with any stupidity. He’s got that maturity to show the guys what it takes to play at the next level.”
McCulloch saw a lot of things at the next level, both good and bad.
While enjoying some personal success in putting up 35 points in Junior A, the winger skated for a Mustangs team in 2015-16 which set a new league mark in consecutive losses.
“It was tough. A lot of adversity, but if you have a good group of the guys in the dressing room you still go and have fun,” he said. “You had to stay positive and keep battling back.
“We had a lot of older guys who were really positive and always wanted to be at the rink.”
That enthusiasm is present for those in Bisons colours.
McCulloch quickly found a home skating on a line with tireless centre Kyle Becker.
“I knew a lot of the guys in the room and the confidence was there,” McCulloch said. “Playing with Becker, he’s a harder worker than me. I’m more of a skill guy, he does the dirty work and he will give it to me and I can finish it.”
Becker, who brings a consistent work ethic to the ice along with considerable offensive acumen, has proven to be the perfect partner in crime for the team’s latest sniper.
“As fat and ugly as I am I would probably score 15 goals playing with someone who goes as hard as Kyle Becker,” Wildeman said with a laugh. “Becker is just a workhorse who puts in the effort and good things are going to happen. It’s not hard to play with him and the engine that just drives him.”
There’s been a rotating cast of characters filling in the other wing position on the top line, from alternate captain Connor Tudor to power forward Robbie McLean.
“It brings everyone’s game up when they play with those guys,” the coach said. “They’ve had different guys on that line. We’ve had Robbie the last handful of games and there is an extra spring in Robbie’s step.”
With 53 points, McCulloch has already surpassed the leading point producers on the Bisons from the past two seasons with over a month of action still on the docket in the regular season.
He’s on pace to challenge 2013-14 offensive studs Phil Dillon and Kevan Mikkelsen’s lofty production which had them north of 70 points on the campaign.
Following a sluggish month of October, the Bisons are on a league high ten-game winning streak due in large part to its consistent point producers.
“My first year we had guys like Phil and Mikk that were almost automatic and when Cully is on it’s almost automatic,” Wildeman said. “When you have a guy that can score almost at will your team is going to play with more confidence and it has showed these last (few) games.
“When you have that first line that’s going, at times they were the only one going, it puts a lot of pressure on them. Now you have a lot of other guys contributing.”
