Liam Liston’s homecoming to the Capital region didn’t result in the happy ending he’d hoped for with the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The St. Albert product and starting goaltender for the Wheat Kings let in seven goals on 27 shots in Friday’s 8-4 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings.
“It wasn’t what we were looking for. It was a big game for us, especially with how the standings are looking,” said Liston, who was pulled at the end of the second period, cutting short his visit to the City of Champions.
While it’s never a good feeling for a goalie to get the hook, Liston believes his performance in front of family and friends at Rexall Place stung more than usual.
“I would’ve liked to have given them a little bit better result, but it was nice to see them.”
Ironically, the first goal of the game against Liston was put in off the stick of his former minor hockey teammate, Travis Ewanyk. Despite giving up the goal that opened the scoring at 1:58 of the first period, Liston was happy to play and see his old teammate with Team Pacific at last year’s World U17 Hockey Challenge.
Liston is confident any NHL team that drafts Ewanyk will have a good player on its hands.
“He’s a really hard worker and some NHL team is going to get a steal in a guy like that. He’s a mid or early round pick who works his butt off and comes to play every night,” said Liston. “I’m really proud of him.”
Liston is currently ranked as the number-one goalie in the Western Hockey League by NHL Central Scouting for players eligible for the 2011 entry draft. In 23 games played, his goals-against average is 3.60 and save percentage is .885.
“Liam has excellent net coverage and good overall quickness,” Central Scouting’s Al Jensen told NHL.com. “He’s strong in the crease and possesses strong legs for lateral pushes. He has a very good butterfly style and continues to get better.”
While the recognition is nice, Liston believes there is a long way to go before he shakes Gary Bettman’s hand.
“Right now it’s December so it’s a long ways from June and a couple more rankings still have to come out. We’ll let those rankings fall where they may and I’ll just focus on getting the Wheat Kings into the playoffs right now,” said the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League’s most valuable goalie in 2009/10.
Liston has no preference which team drafts him.
“I honestly haven’t given it much thought,” he said. “I’ve always looked forward to making it in the National Hockey League. It’s a dream of every kid since they have been able to watch it on TV, but we’ll see where the chips fall in junior.”
Liston is 9-12-0-1 for the Wheat Kings, fifth in the east division and 10 points behind the first-place Saskatoon Blades. He is confident the 2010 host team Memorial Cup finalists will improve once the players peel the rookie rust off their game.
“We have a really young team with a lot of 16- and 17-year-olds, so I think we need to focus on learning how to win close games and coming out to play a full 70-game season. That’s what we’re struggling with right now.”
