Izzy’s busy off-season

Abougouche was one of two 16-year-old regulars on the roster last season, joining forward Logan Peskett. Fellow 2006-born players Landon Cowper and forward Kayden Longley joined the team later in the year after being called up due to injury.

“It was definitely a different environment for me last season”, Abougouche admitted. “It was a lot more professional than years prior. It took a lot of battle and compete to stay in the lineup and prove to the coaches and players that I could play at this level.”

The pride of Lac La Biche, Alberta, which dealt with forest fire smoke of their own this summer from those burning in the Northwest Territories, played in 50 games, and was named the team’s rookie of the year.

“It was definitely a bump in the road,” Abougouche reflected back on dislocating his shoulder during a fight in front of family and friends at Rogers Place in Edmonton, promptly ending his season. “This summer was crazy, mixing in the physio and doing as much strengthening as I could.”

Being an injured athlete can be a burden mentally, wonder when you finally recover, if you will be able to preform at the same level prior to the injury occurring.

“For the first few months, I couldn’t do any working out”, the 12^th round selection in the WHL Prospect Draft from 2021 added. “For the first month, I couldn’t even raise my heart level, so I was a couch potato. I gained a little bit of weight at the start of recovery, but now I am back down to where I am comfortable, and I’ve put on more muscle and lost more fat, so I am in a lot better shape than last season, so that will give me the little edge I need.”

Unable to help his team in an opening round playoff loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds, Izzy, as he is known to his teammates, is optimistic about what lies ahead in 2023-2024.

“I think we are going to have a strong team, with more depth and just more experience considering all the rookies we had last year. The twenty-year-old’s we lost last season were huge”, Abouchgouche admitted. “I think some of the new guys we brought in and the returning guys are going to have bigger roles and are going to fill the shoes left by Adam Kydd, Carsen Golder, and Talyn Boyko.”

With only one 16-year-old d-man on the roster this season, wide-eyed American-born Jackson Gellespie, we asked Abouchgouche what it is like to be the youngest player on the team.

“The first few weeks you are here, it is pretty scary”, Abougouche now with a grin on his face. “You are around bigger guys. Everyone is tougher and stronger than what you are used to, but honestly, it gets easier, and you get a lot more comfortable every practice and every game you play.

“Any rookie who comes in this year will have a lot of teammates to talk to because we had so many young guys last year. They are going to get a lot of advice from me and other guys, and if they just keep working hard and pushing, they will have no problem playing in this league.”

A quick healer, the likable defender has his return date to the Kelowna Rockets lineup set for later this month.

“Opening night, that is my goal,” Abougouche seeing a light at the end of the injury tunnel.

“I don’t want to push myself too much and re-injure it, but we will see what the doctor says and what the team says.”

by Regan Bartel

Izzy’s busy off-season

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