MUSKEGON – The only way opponents are going to keep Ethan Whitcomb from scoring is to move him further away from their net.
That’s not likely to happen very often, because of his size – 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds – and his determination to take up residence near opposing goalies, no matter how many shoves, elbows and cheap shots come his way.
Whitcomb’s powerful presence has been a big benefit for the Muskegon Lumberjacks so far this season. He leads the team with five goals, and most have come from close range.
“He plays a big man game,” said Lumberjacks Coach Mike Hamilton, whose team will host Dubuque on Saturday night at Muskegon’s Trinity Health Arena. “Most of his goals come from right there at the goal mouth. He’s not afraid to go in front of the net, he’s not afraid to play in that mucky, dirty area, and he’s being rewarded for being in those spots.
[1]“Especially on the power play, that’s where he has to live. He has to win those battles in front of the net and he’s been doing it.”
Whitcomb has been scoring at a steady pace since the beginning of the season.
He scored one goal in the Jacks’ season-opening 7-4 victory over Sioux Falls. He had two huge goals on Oct. 7 that pushed the game to overtime and resulted in a 3-2 win over Cedar Rapids. He added another goal the next night against Cedar Rapids, then scored again last Saturday in a loss in Green Bay.
“Pucks have been coming to my stick in front of the net, and it’s been nice to be able to put those home,” said Whitcomb, 18, a native of St. Catharine’s, Ontario. “I just try to use my body in front of the net so when pucks do come to me I can put them in.”
[2]So what does Whitcomb do when opponents try to evict him from his spot near the goal?
Simple answer – whatever he has to.
He says it can get very physical and dirty in the scrum in front of the net, and you have to respond in kind if you’re going to be successful.
“It gets pretty physical,” Whitcomb said. “Obviously other teams want to move you out of the way and that’s where you want to be.”
[3]Whitcomb says he’s willing to return any sort of punishment opponents lay on him, “and more.”
“Sometimes you have to take a few cheap shots, crosschecks, a slash across the back of the legs,” he said.
Whitcomb has given several hints of his ability to be a big point producer throughout his short career.
In 2019-20, while playing U16 hockey in Minnesota, he had 16 goals and 13 assists in just 29 games. Last season, his first with the Lumberjacks, he totaled 8 goals and 8 assists in only 44 games. Those totals would have been higher, but he was in and out of the lineup with injuries for much of the campaign.
He sprained an ankle in training camp and missed about a month, sprained it again when he returned, then separated a shoulder later in the season.
“Last year he kept showing signs, but each time he got it going he had in injury,” Hamilton said. “He was a guy we thought would still get drafted (by an NHL team) last summer because of what he showed in those little spurts.
“Now he’s been able to string some games together and build up some confidence. There’s a lot to like there.”
Whitcomb says he was disappointed when he was not selected in the NHL draft, but that only made him more determined to come back to Muskegon and have a good season before heading off to play NCAA hockey at Nebraska-Omaha next year.
“I wasn’t counting on it, but it still hurt a little bit,” he said about the draft snub. “I didn’t let it get in my head. I’ve just been focused on getting better. I’m excited about the way I’ve been playing so far and I hope to keep it going for the rest of the season.”
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