Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Regan Bartel

Rookie forward scores 1st WHL goal

The long wait was well worth it

Mar 6, 2023 | 6:00 AM

While it will be a weekend the Kelowna Rockets would rather forget, it will be forever etched in the memory of rookie forward Ethan Neutens.

The 17-year-old scored his first career WHL goal Friday in an 8-1 loss in Kamloops.

“I don’t remember a lot”, Neutens told RocketFAN about what he recalled about the goal. “When you are in the moment, we are on a rush, and I am concentrating on finishing the play. It felt good afterward when you turn around and realize, it went in. It felt good. I am glad to get it out of the way.”

The goal came in the third period, while shorthanded on an odd-man rush with Rockets leading scorer Andrew Cristall.

“It was a nice play from AC”, Neutens said with a grin. “It was good we got it on the penalty kill. Capitalizing on a mistake on the power play, which has been running pretty well lately was nice. It was a pretty good goal, so I am happy with it.”

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Once the goal was scored, Neutens curled back to the near boards in the hope his teammates would celebrate with him. Cristall, who earned the lone assist, beelined towards the net to pick up the puck as a souvenir.

“It was awkward for a bit”, Neutens said as he waited for teammates to congratulate him. “[Elias] Carmicheal came in and he was there for me. AC [Andrew Cristall] was getting the puck, so he had other business to finish.”

What made the goal even more magical was Neutens had family attend the game at Sandman Centre.

“A crazy coincidence, my dad drove out that day and it was cool for him to be there. He was pretty friggin happy. He was smiling ear-to-ear for me. It is good for him to see that first one.”

But the story gets even better than that.

“My grandmother lives in Mexico. My mom and she were chatting [while watching the WHL webcast] at the end of the second period, and she [grandma] didn’t want to go to bed to miss my first goal. What do you know, I potted one in the third.”

That elusive first goal came in his 54th career WHL game.

“If I could go back and redo it, I don’t think so”, the unassuming personality explained if he thought it would take over five months to score. “I am just happy to get it.”

It isn’t like Neutens, who was selected in the 9th round of the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft, didn’t have chances, yet the puck wouldn’t go in.

“Usually when guys come into the league, it is usually problems with finishing”, Neutens said honestly. “The chances are there, it is just a matter I was finishing later than most guys.”

With Neutens finding success, only forward Ty Hurley and d-man Ismail Abougouche have yet to find the back of the net this season.

“He is a player that is finding his way”, Head Coach Kris Mallette said about the strong skating forward. “He is getting an opportunity and I am utilizing him more on the penalty kill.

“Hey, he got a pass from a future first-rounder [Andrew Cristall] and he buried it. It was a good shot, he put it through the net and broke a shutout. It was good he was able to get that monkey off his back.”

After the game, the Cochrane Alberta-born forward promptly put the puck in his hockey bag, with the plan to eventually put it on the shelf for everyone to see.

“I am really excited to get things rolling in playoffs,” Neutens added. “I am not pooped. Hopefully, we can clinch that [playoff] spot and show other teams what we’ve got.”