Brayden Schuurman has been named the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) player of the week thanks to a two-game weekend series that saw the Victoria Royals forward shoot up the scoring charts.
The 17-year-old scored five goals and added an assist as the Royals split a two-game series against the Kelowna Rockets at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena.
Schuurman netted his first WHL hat-trick on Friday night, earning him the game’s first star in the 6-3 win. The right-handed centreman put Victoria ahead in the second period as Bailey Peach stripped the puck at the Rockets’ blue line before chipping it to a streaking-in Schuurman, who snapped it home from the face-off dot. His second came later in the period, as he sped past every Rockets player down the right side, cut to his left outside the crease and slid a backhander five-hole to make it 4-1. Schuurman would complete the hat-trick with an empty-netter in the third.
Want to see all 3 Brayden Schuurman goals? Don't worry, we got you 🎩🎩🎩#ReturnOfTheRoar pic.twitter.com/pIui790s3h
— Victoria Royals (@victoriaroyals) October 9, 2021
The Abbotsford native would add two more goals on Saturday for a total of five on the weekend, good enough to bump him to the second-highest goal total in the WHL going into week three. Schuurman’s six points in three games have also helped him crack the top 10 for overall scoring.
Six points tied the league-wide high from last week and five goals match the centre’s total from last season’s 22-game bubble campaign.
The 2004-born Schuurman was selected by the Royals in the fourth round of the 2019 WHL draft and he is eligible for next year’s 2022 NHL entry draft.
READ: Kelowna Rockets drop the Victoria Royals to gain split in weekend series
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