By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Hurricanes’ Estephan proving where there’s a will there’s a way

Mar 17, 2017 | 9:22 AM

LETHBRIDGE – “I try to find a couple key areas of my game that I try to fix every summer, and I’m definitely not content with the previous year.”

That quote basically sums up Giorgio Estephan’s approach to hockey, as highlighted by him being named co-winner of this year’s hardest working player award for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, alongside Tanner Nagel.

He also happened to pick up a hat-trick in the 8-1 win over Kootenay that followed the awards ceremony Wednesday night (Mar. 15).

After being drafted fourth overall by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2012, Estephan put up 24-points in 64 games in his first full WHL season in 2013-14. The next year that total jumped to 51-points, and one season later, he hit 74. That brings us to the current campaign, where he has 86-points in 66 contests — good enough for 12th overall in league scoring and second on the Hurricanes, trailing only Tyler Wong.

“I kind of just want to beat my stats or try be a better player,” he explained, while talking to Lethbridge News Now. “It’s always trying to be consistent for myself, and definitely trying to be better every year is something I’ve been focusing on.”

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Going into this season, he says the greatest focus was on his skating. He identified it as an area that needed improvement, and can now be seen driving wide past defenceman and being the first on loose pucks.

Another great area of improvement for the centreman is on the defensive side of the puck. Estephan grew up as an offensive force, carving up leagues like the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League, where he registered an astounding (and league leading) 100-points in 32 games for the SSAC Southgate Lions. When he stepped up to the WHL though, he said it became apparent that his 200-foot game needed some work.

“It’s kind of been a big thing for me ever since I came in the league… You realize all the good players here, and trying to make it to the next level, it’s definitely something that I kind of had to have in my repertoire. Ever since I came into the league, I’ve tried to get better and better at it every year, and I think I’ve done it so far, but there’s definitely a lot of work ahead.”

When asked about the growth in his game, Estephan admitted that some of his drive comes from not being selected until the sixth round of the NHL draft, where the Buffalo Sabres scooped him up. Since then he’s been turning heads, as noted by The Buffalo News last summer.

“It’s nice to see,” Estephan said of his growing reputation. “There’s a lot of good players in the organization and I definitely want to climb up [Buffalo’s depth chart] as quickly as possible. I’m just trying to prove people wrong, which is kind of something I’ve been thinking of for the last couple years.

“Hopefully I could be a good two-way centreman, but I mean, if I could play [lines] one through four, just trying to get to that next level and get my foot in the door,” he continued. “To play pro would be something special, so hopefully I can slide in wherever I’m needed, and if I have to play wing, I’d adjust. Anything I can do to contribute to team success, I’ll do.”

Of course, there’s one other big area where he’s looking for redemption, along with the rest of the organization. Coming off a 2016 playoff appearance in which Lethbridge was knocked out in just five games by Regina, the normally soft spoken Estephan took on a notably more determined tone.

“The first couple years [with the Hurricanes] were definitely tough. It was hard to come to the rink some days, and it was hard to finish games where you were losing by a big score,” he explained. “Being on the flip side of that — winning big games, making playoffs, stuff like that — it’s definitely a light at the end of the tunnel.

“For me and Wonger, we’ve kind of been here through it all, it’s something we’re looking forward to, and I think these playoffs will be a little bit better than the last, we kind of learned a little bit last year.

“We just keep progressing, and hopefully we can make a bang this year.”

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

Jordy Bellerive – (March 10, 2017)

Brennan Menell – (March 3, 2017)