There was little doubt the Okanagan Rockets had the best team at the 31st annual Kelowna Daily Courier-Tim Hortons Major Midget Tournament.
They didn‘t have the best player, though. That distinction belonged to the Calgary Edge Mountaineers, whose roster included star defenceman Matt Dumba.
The 15-year-old defenceman, who has drawn favourable comparisons to Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames, couldn‘t help his club diffuse the Rockets in Sunday‘s championship game, falling 8-4 at Memorial Arena.
But Dumba did his part throughout the tournament, earning round-robin MVP honours with four goals and six assists for 10 points in five games, as the Mount-aineers went undefeated to top the Daily Courier Division.
Dumba was held pointless in Saturday‘s 9-2 semifinal the over the defending champion Thunder Bay Kings, and the Rockets also limited the offensive-minded blue-liner to one assist, on the game‘s final goal.
“As a team, we came out in those first round-robin games and played outstanding,” Dumba said after Sunday‘s loss. “Tonight, I didn‘t have the greatest game. And it‘s really frustrating, knowing we could‘ve done something about it, but just weren‘t able to capitalize on our chances and get the job done.”
That said, the blue-chip prospect still made his presence felt against Okanagan by delivering a few thundering, Phaneuf-esque open-ice hits during the dying minutes.
“Those hits were, I guess, out of frustration,” Dumba said of his sandpaper side. “I just got a bit heated, but I do like the physical part of the game laying those big hits when I get the chances.
“But I also like getting up into the rush, and getting involved in the offence.”
Selected fourth overall in last year‘s WHL bantam draft by the Red Deer Rebels – Phaneuf‘s old junior team – Dumba had the respect of his opponents in Kelowna.
“He was fast and big, he had a good shot and he‘s definitely a skilled player,” said Rockets captain Brett Mulcahy. “But we just tried to chip pucks in behind their (defence) and mess them up on the forecheck. The whole team was doing it well; it was a great collective effort.”
The Rockets succeeded in that regard, and actually made Dumba look bad on one goal, as Colton Malmsten blew by him on the rush, took a pass and scored with a nifty backhand deke to give the Rockets a 4-1 lead after the first period.
“Sometimes young guys can get pretty excited and try to do too much, and it gets them in trouble,” said Mountaineers coach Kevin Willison. “If you look tonight, Matty was pretty excited to play and he gave up the puck a couple times which cost us a couple goals early.
“That‘s something he has to learn, just to calm down, make sure he‘s playing with a lot of confidence and just basically making good decisions with the puck.”
Willison added they are also working with Dumba in terms of foot speed and strength and conditioning, but said, “He‘s the real deal; he‘s a great hockey player and he has a good future. I think he has a good shot at being a National Hockey League player some day.”
Dumba has already debuted at the next level, picking up an assist and two penalty minutes in three WHL games to date this season. Dumba said the Rebels agree with Willison that there‘s room for improvement in his overall game, and would like to see him add some size. At six-feet and 170 pounds, Dumba is still growing, but has a ways to go in resembling the hulking Phaneuf at 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds.
“We workout four times a week at school, and it‘s definitely an area that I need to focus on – getting bigger and stronger, so I can compete at the next level,” Dumba said. “It‘s good playing with the Edge when we go down to the U.S. because there‘s a lot of speed down there, and that‘s basically the main difference. Everything‘s happening at such a fast pace up in the WHL.”
Dumba‘s decision to play for the Mountaineers this season was an interesting, if not peculiar one. Born in Regina, Dumba‘s family moved to Calgary when he was seven and he had been a product of the minor-hockey system to this point in his career, getting drafted from the bantam 3A Bronks.
However, Dumba had already been attending Edge‘s private school and opted to join the Mountaineers rather than play for the Calgary Northwest Flames in the Alberta Midget Hockey League against most of his bantam-draft peers.
“I thought the Edge would be the best place for me,” Dumba said. “It‘s a world-class training facility, we‘re on the ice all the time with the new building and two ice surfaces right at the school. It makes it easy for lots of ice and getting better.
“(Red Deer) just wanted what was best for me, and what was going to work for me, so I could develop and hopefully play there next year.”
Although Dumba strayed from the traditional path to major junior, he was a welcome addition for Willison‘s squad.
“He‘s actually been at the school for a few years, it‘s not like we went out and recruited him,” Willison said. “We went up to Red Deer and asked what they wanted from us. Sometimes it‘s not where you play, it‘s what you do during practice and what you do off the ice.
“We‘re very lucky to have Matty this year, and we‘ll only have him for one year. I‘m thrilled to have a guy of his calibre, to be able to teach Matty a few things hopefully this year and then send him on his way and wish him all the best.”
As for the Phaneuf comparison, Dumba, who has Flames season tickets, considers it a compliment.
“I‘ve heard that quite a few times,” said Dumba, whose mom is of Filipino descent, while his dad has Russian, Romanian and German ancestors.
“Dion‘s basically the main (comparison), and I like it. I think he‘s a great player.”
Willison also sees similarities between the two, highlighted by the Red Deer connection.
“Everybody kinda puts him in the same teapot as Dion Phaneuf,” Willison said. “But they‘re two different players; they have two different attitudes.
“Whatever type of player Matty turns out to be, it‘s certainly going to be a good one.” Top of Page
