It’s been a whirlwind month for Burnaby’s Adam Helewka.
After a mid-December suspension, the holiday break and a trade to start the New Year, the fourth-round draft pick of the San Jose Sharks has settled in nicely in his first five games with his new club.
Helewka joined the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels on Jan. 2 and has settled in quickly, counting seven goals and five assists in five games. In his first four games wearing Rebels colours, he tallied six goals and two assists and paced the club to a 2-0-1-1 record. It earned him the WHL Player of the Week honours.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound left winger was picked up by Red Deer in a deal that saw captain Wyatt Johnson, a prospect and two bantam draft picks head to Spokane.
As the host team for the 2016 Memorial Cup, Red Deer is gearing up to contend for a spot in the May tournament final.
Helewka, 20, is seeing continued progress in his offensive numbers, after last year’s 44-goal breakthrough.
He missed six games in December due to a suspension garnered after an end-of-game encounter with Tri-City’s Parker Wotherspoon.
After beginning the season with San Jose’s American Hockey League team, Helewka returned to the junior ranks and scored 17 goals and 13 assists over 19 games prior to being dealt.
Steelers blanked by pilots
The Grandview Steelers have lost that consistency feeling.
The Pacific Junior B Hockey League club couldn’t beat Abbotsford Pilots’ netminder Jacob Crawford on Sunday in a 3-0 loss on home ice. Sean Olson’s goal midway through the first proved to be the game winner for Abbotsford.
Earlier in the week, Grandview ventured into Richmond and emerged with a 2-1 overtime victory, thanks to Jeffrey Wong’s 14th goal of the season.
The Steelers host first-place North Vancouver on Sunday, 4 p.m. at the Burnaby Winter Club.
