Learning curves in the BCHL are a tricky thing.
You can never tell how fast or slow a player may develop, but rare is the player who steps in right away as an impact guy.
Kevin Wall is that guy for the 2018-19 Chilliwack Chiefs.
The native of Rochester, New York, has burst out of the gate with four goals in five games, his six points two off the league-lead.
“It’s been going really well,” he admitted. “I didn’t have expectations to start this well, but hopefully I can keep it going and I’m looking forward to the next couple of games.”
Wall scored his first ever BCHL goal in in his first ever BCHL game, Sept. 7 at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena in Prince George.
With his team down 2-0 early in the second period, Wall went to work on the power play.
“We got the puck in deep and I got the puck over to Brett Willits for a shot on net,” Wall recalled. “The rebound was right there as I went to the net and I just tapped it in.
“It was definitely a moment of relief because I had some nerves coming into that first game. It was nice to get that first one out of the way and settle in.”
The ice surface in the Prince George arena is 10 feet shorter than a regulation rink, cutting off five feet at both ends. The team that plays there, the Spruce Kings, are a fast and physical bunch and handled the Chiefs twice that weekend, winning 5-1 and 2-1.
It was a jarring introduction to junior A hockey for a teenager who spent the two previous seasons in a very different environment.
“The knock on prep school is that it’s all skill and no one’s hitting, and that’s pretty accurate,” said Wall, a grad of Salisbury School in Connecticut. “You’ve got a lot of silky smaller players who are out there trying make plays. No one’s out there trying to make big hits and fighting is definitely not allowed.”
“Coming into that first game in Prince George, all the guys were saying things are going to happen fast and don’t try to be too cute with the puck.
“The coaches were preaching that to us as well, that you’re not going to have time and space to go end to end. You’re just going to have to work hard and hope for those chances to come.”
Wall is part of a Salisbury pipeline that has seen several Crimson Knights become Chiefs the last few years.
Past alums like Vimal Sukumaran, Anthony Vincent, Tommy Lee, Jeremy Germain, Jake Smith, Kale Kane and Zach Giuttari became core pieces of very good Chilliwack teams and Wall looks to follow their path.
He’s one of four Crimson Knight alums on the roster this year along with Willits, Chris Brown and recent addition Matt Holmes.
Wall was drafted by the USHL’s Madison Capitols in 2016, and intended to play his junior hockey in Wisconsin.
He collected 33 goals and 60 points in 58 games at Salisbury in 2017-18 and was ready for the next step.
But Chiefs head coach Brian Maloney reached out to him over the summer and presented the BCHL option.
“Like most Americans, I thought I was going to go to the USHL, but Coach Maloney connected with me and my coach at Salisbury (Andrew Will) to talk about the pipeline that’s existed,” Wall said. “There are a lot of guys who’ve come here and loved it.
“Brett (Willits) committed to Chilliwack before I did and he told me he thought the team could be really good.”
Maloney is known to be a straight-forward recruiter.
He warned Wall that if he chose the Chiefs and the BCHL, it might not be an easy adjustment.
“Brian said, ‘I know you like to score. Some guys come here thinking they’re going to put up a of lot points. Don’t think you’re going to do that. Just come in here and play your game,’” Wall said. “I like to think of myself as a power forward who works hard in the corners and goes to the front of the net, and some of the goals I’ve had so far kind of show that.
“When I don’t think about scoring the opportunities seem to come to me.”
The trick now is for Wall to sustain his hot start.
The Merrimack College commit is being counted on to lead a young Chiefs attack.
“I am absolutely OK with those expectations, because I had the same sort of go-to guy role at Salisbury,” he said. “It’s nothing new to me, and hopefully I can follow through on those expectations.”