BRANDON – Jayce Hawryluk isn't afraid of the big stage.

The Roblin product has made a habit of delivering big hits and big goals since joining the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League in the fall of 2012.

But Hawryluk may have produced the biggest goal of his career on Saturday night, when his attempted pass went in off the right pad of goalie Landon Bow to give the Wheat Kings a 3-2 overtime victory that put them up 2-0 in the WHL final, which resumes in Washington against the Seattle Thunderbirds on Tuesday.

That the marker snapped a 12-game drought for Hawryluk was merely a bonus, since he had been making a difference in other ways during these playoffs, primarily by throwing his weight around.

“Part of my game is being physical and it's something I'm not going to stop doing, whether I'm scoring or not scoring,” said Hawryluk, who has three goals and 22 points in 18 playoff games after leading the Wheat Kings with 106 points in 58 games this season. “I just wasn't getting as many bounces as I usually was. Now that this one has gone in, hopefully it's going to lead to more.

“We're just focused on winning right now. We don't care who scores.”

It's been a banner season for Hawryluk, but not without its challenges – especially after being cut from Canada's world junior team in December.

Hawryluk was coming off an injury going into that camp in Finland, but that didn't make it any easier to swallow.

“Whenever you get cut from something or you don't make a team, it's heartbreaking,” said Hawryluk, who has found great chemistry playing on a line with Nolan Patrick and Tyler Coulter. “It was my dream goal to make that team and play in the world junior, but it's not the end of the world. Life goes on. It would have been unbelievable to play there and represent my country, but they picked the best 23 guys they thought they had and I wasn't in that group.

“Being sent down from there after making it to the final cut, it was tough to come back and to try and try get your head screwed on right and focus on your game. But I thought that I did that well and put it behind me.”

Did being cut serve as motivation for Hawryluk during the second half?

“A little bit, but honestly I just wanted to play my game and do what I can do,” said Hawryluk. “It was more about being satisfied with myself. I didn't want to prove anyone wrong or show them why they should have picked me.”

As disappointing as that moment was for him, Hawryluk was determined to not let it sink his season and he was rewarded on Mar. 1 when he was signed to an entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers, who chose him 32nd overall in the 2014 NHL Draft.

“That was obviously one of the biggest moments of my career so far,” said Hawryluk. “I was super thrilled and super excited. I'm just thankful to have this opportunity. The contract is out of the way, so it's up to me now.”

Well before that goal was scored on Saturday, Hawryluk's strong play hadn't gone unnoticed.

“He had a great second half and production-wise, he was probably one of the top guys in the league during that stretch of time,” Wheat Kings head coach and general manager Kelly McCrimmon said on Friday morning before the series got underway. “If you look at the playoffs, he hasn't had the goal production that you'd expect from a 40-goal scorer, but in the Red Deer series, he was one of our best players. He was generating offence, he's got a lot of points and it will start to happen for him I'm sure.”

Turns out McCrimmon was right.

Now that he's got another goal under his belt, Hawryluk might be on the verge of finding another gear, especially since the Wheat Kings are two wins away from winning their first Ed Chynoweth Cup since 1996 and earning an invitation to the Memorial Cup later this month.

“It's every kid's dream to win a Memorial Cup and once you play in the WHL, you really want to win that title,” said Hawryluk. “It means so much. You want to be the No. 1 team in your league and you want to have that notoriety. We've got one goal right now and that's to win the title here.”

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Jayce Hawryluk

Hometown: Roblin

Age: 20

Position: Right wing

Chosen in second round (32nd overall) of 2014 NHL Draft by Florida Panthers

2015-16 stats: 47 G, 59 A, 106 P, 101 PIM

2015 playoff stats: 18 GP, 3 G, 19 A, 22 P, 23 PIM