Jake Tremblay

After spending the entirety of his career within driving distance of his home in Pense, Sask., 17-year-old Jake Tremblay made a move to the northern part of the province this year and the rookie forward appears to have settled into his new surroundings in Nipawin quite nicely.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Tremblay has appeared in 21 games with the Hawks so far and after collecting six points in his last five appearances he now has six goals and six assists on the season.

Tremblay, who was a seventh-round selection of the Kamloops Blazers in the 2015 Western Hockey League bantam draft, joined the Hawks after two seasons with the Moose Jaw Generals in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League.

As a 16-year-old last year with the Generals, Tremblay showed huge signs of improvement as he notched nine goals and added 14 assists in 41 games, that after a rookie campaign that saw him net just three goals and set up three others in 39 contests.

Tremblay’s offensive skills were noticed by Kamloops after he put up 27-27-54 totals in 60 games over two seasons with the Balgonie Prairie Storm at the Bantam AA level and that ability undoubtedly caught the eye of the Hawks, who used their first pick of the inaugural SJHL bantam draft in 2015 to list the speedy forward.

The Hawks are closing in on the Melfort Mustangs for the Sherwood Division and overall point’s lead and with the improved play of young players like Tremblay they will certainly be challenging for both of those titles all season long.

Tremblay’s exposure to junior hockey while still midget-aged also bodes well for the future as his responsibilities will undoubtedly increase in a career that could see him in Nipawin for as much as three more years after this campaign.