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Newcomers lead Phantoms’ scorers
By Brian Dzenis
BOARDMAN
The new kids are all right.
Two of the Youngstown Phantoms’ newest additions are among the top 10 scorers in the USHL and despite the team’s .500 start, its top line is in great form.
Rookie Cameron Morrison is on a point-per-game pace with eight goals and six assists, good for 10th in total points through 14 games. Japanese import Yushiro Hirano is in fifth with 10 goals and five assists. Center Chase Pearson is the “veteran” of the trio — as the lone returning Phantom on the line — and is currently tied for the league lead in assists with 12.
“I’ve had a lot of help from my coach and my teammates through this process so far,” Morrison, the team’s fourth-round draft pick said. “They supported me throughout the year and hopefully this can keep up and we can get some wins, but I like the success I’m having right now and hopefully I can keep up.”
One of the reasons the line has clicked so well this early is the pairing up of fellow Canadian Pearson, who has taken a similar career path as Morrison. Morrison was initially drafted into the Ontario Hockey League, but declined to go into the league in in favor of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, where he could get more ice time while playing in his hometown of Aurora, Ont. He earned Rookie of the Year honors after putting up 31 goals and 22 assists before making the decision to take his career south of the border after making a verbal committment to Notre Dame.
Teams in the USHL can take on just four players from outside the United States, so the flow of Canadians into the league is slow, but word of the USHL as a viable alternative to Canadian major junior hockey is making its way.
“Major junior is a great league and the USHL is obviously great, but it’s hard to compare them because they prepare you for different styles of the game,” said Pearson, an Alpharetta product. “College hockey plays differently and in major juniors, it’s five years and you either go pro or go to Canadian University.
“Major junior plays a pro schedule and it’s not like that in college or the USHL It’s more about getting ready physically and maturing in the weight room than major junior, where you’re on the ice all the time.”
Off the ice, Pearson and Morrison are roommates and they take online classes together. On the ice, the two play a physical, power forward kind of style.
“We can put up some offense, but I think we get on the forecheck pretty well,” Pearson said. “I bring a big body and so does Cam and Yush has a friggin’ rocket of a shot, so it helps when we can get the puck to him while we try to do that.”
There’s a language barrier between Hirano and his linemates, but somehow he is able to get the job done.
“It’s pretty cool, I don’t know how he does it — he barely speaks English — but him coming over here is amazing,” Pearson said. “He’s played really well and he complements the line.”
The Phantoms (7-6-1) are in something of a slump, losing three of their last five. The group will have to maintain its production to climb the Eastern Conference standings.
“We feel like we’ve been playing the right way, a few bounces have changed a couple of games, but we feel like we still need to be doing what we’re doing,” Morrison said. “We’ve won some games dominatingly and if we can play like that we can roll anybody.”