Article content continued

Ashley and wife Marcia run a farm in nearby Admiral, Sask., and also head up one of the more prolific hockey families in the region currently. Kole’s sisters Tenelle, 16, and Taylor, 15, are key members of the Swift Current Wildcats, a squad in the Saskatchewan female triple-A midget league. Youngest sibling Kalan, 12, is an underage bantam with the Swift Current Broncos and he had an impressive 12 points in his first seven games.

Kole, of course, is the one drawing the most attention now.

“I remember his dad as a player and it’s fair to say that Kole is more skilled,” Wickenheiser quipped. “Kole comes from a great family. He’s a grounded kid. In a lot of ways, I think he’s your typical Saskatchewan farm boy from a small town.

“He’s got a nose for the net and seems to have the ability to score timely goals and not everybody can do that. He’s a good size, and I think he’s not going to be afraid to play in the physical areas at the next level. I also think he’s going to be a good team guy. He comes from a community environment and he remembers where he’s from.

“He has that dynamic element as a player, but I also think he’s going to be a guy who will show up night in, night out.”

Wickenheiser and Lind aren’t in frequent contact. For instance, they each joked about being surprised when they were both entrants in a summer camp two years ago in Florida run by noted skills coach Darryl Belfry.

Photo by Marissa Baecker / PNG

Wickenheiser does keep up on Lind’s exploits, though, following how the 6-foot-1, 185 pounder did in midget with the Saskatoon Contacts and now junior with the Rockets, along with all that went in to the Canucks using a second-round pick, 33rd overall, in last summer’s NHL Draft to snag his rights.