Former Bison’s playoff drive ends shy of WHL title series
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Photo Courtesy of the Lethbridge Hurricanes
On the last day of April, Cox and the Hurricanes needed a win to force a Game 7 against the Swift Current Broncos, one of the top-ranked teams in the Canadian Hockey League, but bowed out of the playoffs with a 5-1 loss at the Enmax Centre.
“I think it was a pretty good series. We played them well and the games were all close. We probably should have won one or two more, but that’s how these things go sometimes,” said the 19-year-old Cox.
The Hurricanes finished the regular season second in the division, which even Cox admitted was a down year for the division.
Looking around at the trade deadline, the Hurricanes brass saw the Medicine Hat Tigers comfortably above them in the division and two juggernauts competing in an arms race out east. So they did what they thought was best for the future of the franchise and pulled off the biggest shocker of the year.
Despite basically being a lock for the playoffs Jan. 9, the Hurricanes dealt their captain Giorgio Estephan, starting netminder Stuart Skinner and Tanner Nagel to the Broncos for a bundle of assets highlighted by 17-year-old Logan Barlage, goaltender Logan Flodell and three draft picks.
“It was a huge shock coming to the rink that day. It was a little devastating seeing those guys go. Giorgio and Stuart were two of the vets on the team that helped get me settled when I first arrived,” said Cox.
The trades allowed Cox to slide into a more comfortable role in the bottom six with enough games in front of him to get acclimated before playoffs. In 58 games, he registered a pair of goals and six points.
When the playoffs rolled around, the Hurricanes reaped the rewards of the new playoff structure. By finishing as the No. 2 seed in the Central Division, they avoided running into the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Broncos during the first two rounds.
Instead, they throttled the sub-500 Red Deer Rebels in the opening round and laid waste to the wildcard Brandon Wheat Kings in the second round, both in five games.
Cox was having himself a fine playoff run. He matched his regular season total in goals, all while dealing with the biggest off-ice tragedy this country has ever seen.
Drafted in the eighth round of the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft, Cox didn’t make his debut until earlier this season when the Hurricanes listed him from the Nipawin Hawks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
The Hawks was the team the Humboldt Broncos were travelling to face in their playoff bracket when disaster struck.
“That was a really hard time for me. I knew guys on both sides of that series and it was rough. Thankfully, our coaching staff and my teammates were there for me when I needed it the most,” said Cox.
Doing whatever he could to move on but not forget, Cox still had the task at hand of shutting down the second-best team in the league and a bunch of familiar faces.
The Broncos stormed out to take the first two games 3-2 and 4-3 in overtime at the Credit Union i-plex.
When the series shifted back to Lethbridge, the Hurricanes battled back with a pair of convincing 5-1 decisions in front of a rocking home crowd.
“It was kind of funny competing against those guys. Our crowd let them have it,” said Cox. “Anytime Giorgio touched the puck, he got booed, and the fans were all over Skinner, chanting his name all night long.”
Cox has previous experience with a grueling playoff drive, as he scored one goal and added four assists as the UFA Bisons marched their way to the franchise’s first trip to the Telus Cup in the 2014-15 season.
“I remembered how tough the battles were and how close we were as a group. That playoff run made me realize that you have to work for everything, every shift, to get to another day. It definitely helped me out this year,” said Cox.
In the end, the high-octane Broncos could not be slowed down, as they advanced to the Ed Chynoweth Cup to take on the Everett Silvertips in six games.
If anything, this Hurricanes’ playoff drive will only better the franchise moving forward, one in which Cox hopes to be a mainstay entering his second-last year in junior.
With the exodus of superstar players at the deadline, the Hurricanes were playing with house money as they crawled within two wins of the league final.
“We have a lot of young players like Dylan Cozens and Logan Barlage who will be good for years to come. Those guys, combined with all the draft picks the team has now, should make this team good for a long time. I hope I can be here as long as possible to see that through,” said Cox.
Cox now joins the likes of Gary Haden and Barrett Sheen from that Telus Cup Bisons team, as WHL players eliminated for the playoffs and back at the gym, getting better for next year.
If Cox plays his cards right, he could be travelling down a very similar path next year and getting another shot at the Ed Chynoweth Cup.