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Graham is almost apologetic when the subject is brought up, considering he has just 10 fighting majors to his resume in 191 career games. While playing hardnosed hockey on the number one line with Gabriel Szturc and Andrew Cristall, being the penalty minutes leader is typically held by someone who does his best work with his gloves off and is looking to intimidate everyone wearing an opponent’s jersey.

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“I am not trying to go out there and rack up my pims,” he said. “Whatever happens on the ice happens I guess.”

Graham’s 114 penalty minutes equals the 114 he put up by playing 18 games with the Everett Silvertips in 2020-2021, the 43 he had two seasons ago as a member of the Rockets after being acquired in the Alex Swetlikoff trade, and the 65 penalty minutes he earned a season ago playing in 54 games.

“I’ve been to the box 39 times?” Graham said with no knowledge of the fact he has spent that much time serving a minor. “I have gotten some penalty minutes where it is 10 minutes at the end of the game, so I am not even in the box for that.”

To be fair, Graham has played 27 games this season where he hasn’t been called for one infraction.

“Discipline is something I have tried to work on a bit,” he added. “I feel I’ve done a better job of it at times, yet my penalty minutes are still shooting through the roof.”

Graham has been suspended only once this season. The likable Kelowna product incurred a one-game sit down after receiving a kneeing major in a game before Christmas in Prince Albert.

“I try to avoid the stick penalties; the tripping, the hooking, and slashing, those are the ones you don’t want to be in the box for,” he added. “The majority of my penalties have been interference or boarding, which obviously isn’t great, but sometimes those penalties are easier to live with than the stick infractions.”

Who was the last Rockets player to lead the WHL in penalty minutes? Kris Mallette, the team’s current head coach, had 220 in the 1997-98 campaign.

“I am going to go out there and play as hard as I can every night,” Graham concluded.