Avalanche affiliates seeing action and contributing

WASILLA — Kaleb Westfall was fueled with excitement rather than nervous energy when he skated onto the ice for his first shift with the Alaska Avalanche on Friday.

“Actually I was pretty calm,” Westfall, a 2007 graduate of Houston High School, said after the game on Friday.

Designated as an affiliate player, Westfall is one of a half-dozen skaters the Avalanche have presented with the opportunity to jump-start their junior hockey career.

“It’s just awesome,” Westfall said. “The level, the pace, guys; it’s just great to be out there.”

Westfall and five other players — Adam Friese, Jay Baldwin, Tyler Morgan, Dillon Styers and Jimmy Isaacs — are members of the Avalanche AAA Midget squad, and have been designated as affiliate players by Avalanche general manager and head coach Jamie Smith.

Thanks to a player affiliation rule honored by the North American Hockey Association, Smith can take a select number of players from the organization’s AAA Midget team and allow them to see action at the Junior A level.

“It’s been great,” Smith said.

By putting affiliated players into the lineup, Smith and his coaching staff has the opportunity to see if the midget players have what’s necessary to compete at the higher level. It also gives these players a sneak peak at the junior game and helps them develop.

Westfall, a player who helped lead the Houston Hawks to four straight state titles during his high school career, is a year removed from prep hockey. But three of the Avs’ affiliated players — Friese, Styers and Morgan — are still in high school.

Westfall, Friese, a Wasilla High School senior, and Baldwin, a 2007 graduate of East Anchorage High School, were each in the lineup during the Avs’ 4-3 shootout loss to Kenai River on Friday.

And on Saturday, Friese, Morgan, a Dimond High senior, and Styers, a Houston High senior, saw time on the ice.

And the players contributed.

Styers scored Alaska’s first goal in a 5-3 win over Kenai River on Saturday, and Friese added a power-play goal and an assist in the win.

Smith said he was pleased with the play of all the affiliated players who saw action.

The use of the affiliates is helping the Avalanche build a team with a nucleus of Alaska talent.

In addition to the affiliates there are currently 10 players from the 49th state on the Avalanche roster.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.