By Glen Erickson /
When the Prince George Cougars acquired defenceman Dallas Jackson from the Regina Pats, they were confident they added a patient and mature puck-moving defenceman. And while he has had to do battle with the injury bug, his return to the lineup has been welcomed on all fronts.
Jackson, 20, had been penciled in to play over 20 minutes a game for the Cats. Without his veteran savvy in the lineup, the youngsters have had to pick up their game. In some cases, the workload has simply been too much.
“The level of inexperience on the backend really took its toll on us, so right when he came back, it was a real shot in the arm for our team,” said general manager Dallas Thompson. “He has really helped to settle things down on the back end. We had been running out two 16-year-olds and then two 17-year-olds and they were just too young. Now, those players will be better for that experience, but Dallas just came back in and really settled things down.
“It’ll give all of our defenceman some breathing room. First off, he comes back in and gives us about 25 to 30 minutes a game. Those are minutes that had been given to guys who were actually being asked to play too much. Right off the bat, he eats up those minutes where we need a veteran guy.”
Now that he has returned, Jackson’s skill set will be back on display. He is solid in his own end, but also brings much needed offensive flair to a group that has played almost the entire season so far without the proven scoring threat up front provided by forward Brett Connolly.
“Just his ability to move the puck, he’s a guy who can go get it and make a play when we are in the other end,” Thompson said. “When you’re not in your own end all the time, it makes things a lot easier.
“He came into the league as an 18-year-old and really matured last season. When Dallas was hurt, it showed us exactly what we have in some of the guys on our backend. I think our team realized during that month when he was out just how much we needed him.”
Head coach Dean Clark agrees that with Jackson back for a regular shift, the Cats are in a better position to keep the puck moving towards the attacking zone.
“Dallas helps us and he is really good on special teams,” Clark said. “And he makes a difference. Since he’s been back, we’ve been cooking at about 25 percent on the powerplay.
He’s given our guys some confidence and has really been a big boost on the back end.” |