WHL Player of the Week is forward Jesse Ismond of the Kootenay Ice.
Ismond collected seven points, scoring four goals and three assists to go with a +7 rating, in three games over the past week, helping the Ice post a 3-0-0-0 record in that span.
On Wednesday, January 13th, the Ice were in Edmonton for a rare weekday matinee contest against the Oil Kings on their CN Hooky Hockey Day promotion. Ismond scored his first career hat-trick and added an assist as the Ice downed the Oil Kings 4-2. He was also named the games 1st Star. On Saturday, January 16th, the Ice were back at the Cranbrook Recreation Complex hosting the Spokane Chiefs. Ismond picked up an assist as the Ice were able to hold on and defeat the Chiefs 4-3. The next day, Sunday, January 17th, the Kootenay Ice travelled to Calgary to face their Central Division rivals the Hitmen. Ismond netted one goal and one assist in the Ice’s 3-1 victory over the Hitmen.
Ismond’s seven points over the last three games has him sitting 4th in Kootenay Ice team scoring with 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) in 46 games. With the win over the Calgary Hitmen on Sunday the Ice set a new franchise record capturing their 12th straight victory and currently sit fifth in the WHL Eastern Conference with a 28-15-1-2 record for 59 points, just one shy of the Hitmen for fourth.
Ismond, an 18-year-old from Kindersley, Saskatchewan, is currently playing his second season with the Kootenay Ice. He was drafted by the Ice in the sixth round of the 2006 WHL Bantam Draft has gone onto appear in 113 WHL regular season games collecting 55 points (22 goals, 33 assists).
The WHL has also nominated Morgan Clark of the Swift Current Broncos for the CHL Goaltender of the Week Award. Clark posted a 1-1-0-0 record this past week, stopping 55 of 57 shots faced for a 1.080 goals-against average and a 0.965 save percentage. Clark, a native of Flower Mound, Texas, has appeared in 30 games this season posting a 15-10-0-1 record.