Halfway through the National Hockey League season, county natives Nick Spaling and Jamie McGinn are both on pace for career years.
As of Jan. 20, Spaling, originally from Drayton, had registered 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) for the Nashville Predators, to go along with 10 penalty minutes, 62 shots on goal and a plus-one rating.
The 23-year-old’s 2011-12 point total surpasses his previous high of 14, which he tallied in 74 games last season.
Fergus native Jamie McGinn, also 23, has similar stats thus far this season for the San Jose Sharks: 16 points (nine goals and seven assists), 15 penalty minutes, 78 shots and a plus-10 rating.
McGinn, drafted in the second round (36th overall) in the 2006 NHL draft, leads the sharks with 93 hits and is also on pace to set a personal best in games played. In the 2009-10 season he played in 59 games, registering a career-high 13 points.
This season he has played in every one of San Jose’s games, whereas he spent parts of the previous three seasons with the Sharks’ American Hockey League affiliate in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The career-high point totals for McGinn and Spaling are impressive considering both play primarily checking roles on their team’s third lines; McGinn on left wing and Spaling at centre.
Spaling, drafted in the second round (58th overall) in the 2007 NHL draft, is third on the Predators in face-off wins and has continued the trend he established in last season’s NHL playoffs – he is this season’s co-leader in Nashville for game winning goals.
Spaling also has an impressive streak going: the Predators have yet to lose in regulation when he scores a goal (13-0-1, including playoffs).
His play has earned the praise of coach Barry Trotz and also his teammates.
“Even though he’s a young guy, he plays like an experienced player,” Predators goalie Pekka Rinne told the Nashville Tennessean earlier this season.
“You can use him in almost any situation. He plays on the (penalty kill) and scores goals.”
McGinn has also drawn considerable praise in San Jose.
“We’ve really liked Jamie McGinn’s game this year,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said in an interview last week with the San Jose Mercury News.
“[He] goes down and works below the goal line and is strong against the boards. That’s his spot, that’s where he’s comfortable.”
For more information on the two players visit http://predators.nhl.com or http://sharks.nhl.com.
