Any inspiration Victoria Royals forward Jamie Crooks  last seasons leading scorer and team MVP who has only one assist in four games this season  needed may have been right there in front of him during practice Tuesday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.

Skating with the Royals was locked-out NHL forward Dwight King. In 2009-10, King was a member of the Ontario Reign playing against the Victoria Salmon Kings in the minor-pro ECHL. Just two years later, King hoisted the Stanley Cup last spring as a member of the Los Angeles Kings.

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Hockey is a game of cycles and no situation is ever necessarily permanent.

If youre going through a tentative stretch as a player, go back to doing the things that give you confidence, said King, after the workout.

That advice from a WHL graduate might be something to take to heart.

I cant get too frustrated, said Crooks.

I have to work on the little things. Maybe just get a greasy goal first and that will create some things. But overall, were 3-1 and Im focusing on that.

Crooks is too much of a natural offensive talent to be held low for long  especially as an over-age

20-year-old now facing opposition defencemen up to three- and sometimes four-years younger.

It seems like the years have just flown by. I want to make this a great final year [of junior], he said.

Crooks season continues tonight at 7 inside the Memorial Centre against the Medicine Hat Tigers, who are also 3-1.

They are a quick team that creates pressure off turnovers and we have to limit that, said Crooks.

Speed has always been a Tigers hallmark  this season epitomized by highly-touted 2013 NHL draft prospect Hunter Shinkaruk.

Our identity doesnt change a whole lot year to year, said Medicine Hat head coach Shaun Clouston.

We work hard and have good intensity and speed.

Royals head coach Dave Lowry concurred.

The Tigers are a very skilled, very quick-paced team with a couple of good players we have to pay close attention to, he said.

Shinkaruk had three breakaways in their last game. We need to have an awareness about how we manage the ice. We cant make it easy for them.

But with 20-year-old goaltender Tyler Bunz having signed an entry-level NHL contract with the Edmonton Oilers, the speedy Tigers cant gamble up-ice as much as they did last season when they knew Bunz would be there to bail them out if they got caught.

Our goaltending has been OK. We essentially have two rookies [Marek Langhamer and Dawson MacAuley] and well evaluate that and let them battle it out, Clouston said.

cdheensaw@timescolonist.como