ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley Phantoms captain tells his pupil the same thing before every game. It’s a pregame ritual that borders on a gag because of the repetition.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel, in his second full season as a pro, is making it more an honest preview than a laughing matter.
“I tell him before games, before we go out, that he can make an impact on every shift,” veteran winger Colin McDonald said. “There’s games where he does that and for a guy to be that dominant without any power-play time, with very little (penalty-kill) time, it’s pretty impressive.”
The 2014 second-round pick has gained steam in his sophomore season with the Phantoms, racking up 18 goals in 64 games and is third on the team in points with 42. The 5-foot-11 winger has grown into the role of being a professional hockey player after being a top scorer in junior hockey.
Aube-Kubel, 21, scored 38 goals in each of his last two seasons for the Val-d'Or Foreurs in Quebec. That’s a lot tougher to do in professional hockey because of the physical toll associated with coming down the wing.
He’s starting to figure that out.
“I know last year…day and night difference between this year and last year,” he said. “Maybe confidence or how to read the game is the difference.”
“I read something before where it said power forwards take the longest to develop,” McDonald added. “Maybe in junior, of course he was a power forward, but maybe physically he didn’t have to play as a power forward in junior and it took him a little while to understand that. His speed, his physicality, his strength, he can literally take over games. It’s become a joke, but there’s truth behind it.”
His impact has been felt more this season because four of his goals have been game-winners, he uses his body to shield the puck extremely well and his physical play has taken a step up as well. Recently, that hasn’t necessarily been a good thing. He leads the team in penalty minutes and was suspended for both of last weekend’s games for a hit he put on Providence Bruins forward Adam Payerl. He missed time with an “upper-body injury.”
It was Aube-Kubel’s second suspension in two weeks, both for hits to the head. Head coach Scott Gordon told Aube-Kubel he didn’t think it was suspension worthy and the player has vowed not to change how he plays the game.
“I don’t think I have a reputation. They’re not cheap shots,” he said. “I didn’t hit anyone from behind. Just, it happens. A concussion is so sensitive. I had two myself in junior and I don’t think the other guy meant to hurt me or anything. It’s just the way my shoulder went into his chest and head or the way he hits his head on the boards. I didn’t mean to hurt him and I hope the league knows that.”
Players Academy has a dedicated synthetic ice section as well as a gym. Parents can train at the gym while waiting for their child's practice to finish. Celeste E. Whittaker/Staff Photographer
Aube-Kubel’s newfound assertion has come in step with new responsibility.
He has seen some time on the penalty kill, which will be an important attribute if he makes the jump to the NHL. This year he’s also seeing his ice time rise, he says, although it’s hard to quantify that because the AHL chooses not to publish its time-on-ice stats.
“I’d say steady progression,” Aube-Kubel said of his breakout season. “Last year I was feeling better already but didn’t have a good enough role on the team. Since the beginning of the year I’ve got a better role, have played more 5-on-5 and I feel good on the ice. I’m confident, playing with good players on the ice. That helps me.”
“With Ku I think it’s almost like something clicked a little bit. It started to come last year,” assistant coach Kerry Huffman said. “He started to get a little more responsibility in terms of playing time and he realized he had to play a certain way, a different way than he played in junior. Sometimes you get a kid so offensively gifted, they come out of junior where it’s easy. They have to do these little things. They have to learn how to manage the puck. They have to learn how to be strong on the walls. Once he realized he has to use his body, as strong as he is, this year has just been an amazing transformation.”
There has been a lot of hype surrounding the Phantoms’ prospects in the last couple years and several have graduated to the NHL.
Even since he was a rookie last season Aube-Kubel has seen fellow Flyers draft picks Oskar Lindblom, Robert Hägg, Travis Sanheim and Taylor Leier stick in the NHL and Tyrell Goulbourne and Danick Martel receive call-ups.
“Some guys had their chance this year. I was hoping,” he said. “Maybe if it’s not this year it’s gonna next year. If it’s not next year, it’s gonna be the year after. I don’t mind. I just know that I have to progress in the AHL before I go to the NHL.”
Dave Isaac; @davegisaac; 856-486-2479; [email protected]
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