The Lethbridge Hurricanes are right in the thick of it in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and a Prince George native is leading the charge.
Miguel Marques is off to a flying start in his second season with the Canes tallying 27 points in 25 games.
The 17-year-old enjoyed a solid homecoming with a goal and two assists in a 6-4 loss to the Prince George Cougars on Friday, ending the team’s five-game BC Road Trip with a mark of 3-2.
In an interview with MyPGNow.com, Marques said he didn’t have to look far for inspiration growing up as he was often in the stands watching his hometown WHL team.
“One guy I pattern my game after is Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche – he plays the right way, he plays a 200-foot game and he’s very smart with the puck so I model my game after him. The Cougars I looked up to that I grew up watching were Jansen Harkins and Chase Witala who led that team.”
When the Hurricanes team bus pulled into Prince George, Marques admitted it felt a little strange to be coming into such a familiar place as a member of the visiting team.
“Growing up, this was my favorite team, and was watching these guys play hockey every night when I could and coming back here and standing along the visitor’s bench felt kind of weird but it was awesome to do it in front of our friends and family.”
Speaking of friends and family, his biggest supporters came out in full force, some of which, were donning Hurricanes jerseys with Miguel’s name and number posted on the back.
“It felt awesome playing in front of friends and family for the first time and the crowd was pretty electric. We didn’t get the result we wanted but it was still pretty fun,” added Marques.
Drafted 10th overall in the first round of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, the local product had to earn his stripes at the major junior level playing for Brent Kissio last season who is now in the American Hockey League.
This year, Marques is thriving under new bench boss Bill Peters who has a winning pedigree at the WHL level, capturing a Memorial Cup with the Spokane Chiefs.
The 17-year-old believes the coaching change has allowed him the green light to perform wizardry with the puck on almost every shift.
“He’s been really good for us this year. He has been supportive and knows what it takes to win and get to the next level. He has allowed me to play my game and do my thing and allow me to have some freedom unlike last year where I had to get pucks in deep but this year it’s been good. He has allowed me to do what I want and what I need to do to succeed.”
Peters coaching resume includes stops with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, and Calgary Flames along with stints in the AHL with the Rockford Ice Hogs and the KHL’s Avtomobilitist Yekaterinburg in Russia.
With a young group that includes Noah Chadwick, Brayden Edwards, Leo Braillard, and Trsiten Doyle, Marques believes the Hurricanes are hungry for some postseason success after back-to-back early exits.
“We’ve got a lot of key players in our lineup who play crucial roles who play the right way and we know what it takes to win. Obviously, the past couple of seasons we have been swept back to back in the playoffs and that is not what we wanna do this year. We need to have a good regular season, play our game, and head into the playoffs on a high note with some home ice.”
As a youth, Marques terrified opponents while in PG Minor Hockey before graduating to the Cariboo Cougars U-15 and U-16 programs. He tallied 42 points in 26 games at the U15 AAA level with the Cougars in 2019-2020 before his season was cut short due to the pandemic.
Marques then made the decision to pursue the academy route where he had a monster year at the Delta Hockey Academy’s U-17 program posting an eye-popping 42 goals and 76 assists in just 31 games.
In the playoffs, Delta captured the Canadian Sports School League title where Marques was the centerpiece notching 30 points in five games.
According to the preliminary draft rankings by NHL Central Scouting, Marques is rated as a “C” skater, which means he is projected to be a late-round selection in the 2024 draft.
The Hurricanes are back in action on Wednesday when they host the Calgary Hitmen.
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