Driving the attack from the back-end – a look at Brennan Menell

That hole was addressed when the club traded for Brennan Menell, a right-shot defender playing for the Vancouver Giants. In exchange, the Hurricanes gave up defenceman Darian Skeoch and a fourth-round draft pick in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft.

“It was a really happy feeling, coming to a team that I know had a lot of success last year and I knew could have a lot of success this year,” Menell said of the trade to southern Alberta, in an interview with Lethbridge News Now. “Some really skilled players, like Tyler Wong, made me really excited to come over.”

In his last season with Vancouver, Menell registered 53-points in 59 games, but had an unflattering -20 plus/minus.

One season later, the Woodbury, Minnesota, native has 61-points in 62 games, and has improved his plus/minus to +10, which happens to be the third best rating on the team.

“I can always evolve every part of my game, nothing’s perfect… I’d say definitely defensive zone has been one thing that I’ve been pretty critical on myself, and I know other people have,” Menell said of the improvement in his game, a process he acknowledged is ongoing. “Just kind of being more reliable in the d-zone, I know I can be pretty good in the offensive zone, but to kind of round out as a good two-way defenceman is really a good way to get to the next level and be considered one of those top guys in the league.”

The 19-year old also credited the coaching staff for helping to develop him, in all aspects of the game.

“It’s been really huge for me, a big part of getting a lot of ice time and even becoming sort of a leader to some of the younger defenceman that we have. It’s just a nice feeling, knowing that you have some trust from the coaches when they put you out on the ice so much,” explained Menell.

That confidence from the coaching staff has also made Menell a staple on the Canes man-advantage, as he sits second in power-play scoring on the team with 27-points, coming in behind Tyler Wong’s 32.

As for his fit in Lethbridge, Menell echoed comments made by other new Hurricanes when talking about joining this group.

“The thing about this team is we hang out a lot off the ice, we’re a really close group,” said Menell. “Whether it’s going out to lunch after practice or going out for wings one night, we’re always doing something and we’re always bonding as a team, so usually you can find me with another guy on the team hanging out or with a big group of the team.”

Before wrapping up the interview, this reporter started to ask one last question: “You had one goal that stood out earlier this season…”

Hearing just that, Menell nodded his head and smiled, thinking back to the short-handed break-away goal he scored in a 6-5 shootout loss to Prince George on Jan. 13.

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve never scored a short-handed goal before, so I just kind of stood up on the [blueline] and intercepted the pass,” he said, after confirming that’s where the question was headed. “I got the puck and I looked up and there was really no one in front of me.

“So, I just kept going.”

With 25-points in the 20 games since, it appears there’s no end in sight.

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Into the Hurricane
(Check back every Friday during the regular season for a look at the players you cheer for)

Zak Zborosky – (Feb. 24, 2017)

Calen Addison – (Feb. 17, 2017)

by Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Driving the attack from the back-end – a look at Brennan Menell

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