John MacNeil
Daily Herald
While his great uncle Dallas Smith was NHL legend Bobby Orr’s defence partner with the Boston Bruins more than 50 years ago, Jordan Murray would be most content to play alongside Benett Kelly or any other Prince Albert Raiders’ defenceman.
“I definitely would be,” said Murray, a 20-year-old Manitoban who joined the Raiders this week to audition for a roster spot with the Western Hockey League team.
“Kelly is a good, steady defenceman, from what I’ve seen so far. He’s a bigger guy, as well, so he might be able to help me out if I get in trouble in front of the net. After whistles, that’s for sure.”
The whistle sounds tonight for the resumption of one of the WHL’s greatest rivalries, as the Raiders and Saskatoon Blades engage in their first home-and-home series this season, with games Friday in Prince Albert and Saturday in Saskatoon.
Murray, who just last weekend was in the thick of BCHL action as a member of the Okotoks Oilers, hopes to make his Prince Albert debut on Friday, pending paperwork clearance to play major junior.
Practising with the Raiders since Tuesday, Murray’s arrival gave Prince Albert eight defencemen. He also became the fourth candidate for one of the team’s three overage berths. The Raiders opened the season last weekend with three 20-year-old forwards — Carsyn Dyck, Maddix McCagherty and Evan Smith.
Murray, a BCHL veteran with Okotoks and previously the Cranbrook Bucks, began this season trying out with the Fargo Force of the USHL. After he was cut from that North Dakota team, he briefly returned home to rural Manitoba, before rejoining Okotoks just last week.
“I was kind of waiting around to see what the next move would be, and I decided I’d rather keep playing hockey instead of sitting around doing nothing, so I headed back to Okotoks,” he said.
“I was happy to be back (with the Oilers). I wanted to make a jump up, but it didn’t work out. So, you move on and I was happy to be back with some familiar faces, and got put into the leadership group there. Then, yeah, all this came together really quickly.”
The Oilers welcomed his return and he dressed for both of their road games last weekend — 4-2 against the Brooks Bandits and 6-5 in overtime versus the Spruce Grove Saints. Murray scored a goal and an assist in the second game.
Back in Okotoks on Monday morning, he arrived at the rink and his agent called, and later he spoke with Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt about the opportunity in Prince Albert.
“Him and my agent pieced something together and then, yeah, he just told me to come to P.A. that night and start practising with the boys on Tuesday,” said Murray, entering his fifth and final season of junior hockey.
“We’re trying to hammer out lots of paperwork so that I’m eligible to play. The main focus (this week) was getting me ready to actually be able to play. Definitely, hoping to play (Friday) night.”
On and off the ice, Murray acclimatized himself with his new teammates, including his billet mate Alisher Sarkenov.
Earlier in his career, before major junior players became eligible to play NCAA hockey, Murray opted to stick with junior A to keep his collegiate options open. Of course, now that those restrictions no longer apply, he’s welcoming the opportunity to take a shot in the WHL.
“Since that rule change came in, it’s definitely something I’ve been aiming to do and get to, is WHL and CHL in general,” he said. “It’s obviously the highest (junior) level that you can play at.
“When I first started junior, I always wanted to be going the NCAA route. As soon as that rule change happened, and I was a couple of months into my 18-year-old season, that definitely changed a lot of things around the junior hockey landscape. It’s definitely been something I’ve been pushing to try and get to, since then.”
As a 20-year-old, he believes he’s more prepared than ever to test the WHL waters.
“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “Especially last season, I got lots of playing time and lots of opportunity to really expand my game, and it really ups my confidence as a player. It definitely got me ready to go for this season to make that jump.
“This is my fifth year of junior now. So, as much as I haven’t been in this (Western) league for as long, or have as many games as other guys, obviously, I still have that sense of junior hockey and definitely bring leadership to the table for this group, and try to be as vocal as I can. Even though I’m not as familiar with the league, I bring steady presence to the D corps. A strong-skating defenceman, and I can kind of spark some offence when it’s available, and still provide a sense of steadiness and strong defensive play to, obviously, keep the score down for the team.”
Murray, almost six feet and about 170 pounds, doesn’t consider his play style as gritty.
“No, I would say I’m definitely more of a smooth-skating, puck-moving defenceman that likes to get up in the play, and up into the offensive opportunities.”
Murray’s hockey role models include his brother Owen, a 23-year-old defenceman who captained the University of Massachusetts-Amherst at the NCAA Division 1 level. Just recently, Owen attended the Nashville Predators’ rookie camp and played in NHL pre-season games against prospects from the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes.
“Then, he’s heading to Milwaukee soon for their main camp with their AHL team,” Jordan Murray said. “He’s hoping to make an impression down at Milwaukee. If he can stay there, that would be great. He’d love to be in the AHL. Hopefully, things work out for him there. If not, he’s signed with Atlanta in the ECHL right now.”
Both of the Murray boys have been told that they play like their great uncle Smith, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Bruins.
“That’s kind of cool, to know that hockey runs that deep into our family,” Murray said. “We never got to see him play, but we always hear from our grandpa just how (Smith) played, and he’s always said that we skate exactly like Dallas does, that smooth-skating style similar to him. That’s something that the two of us had been told about, from other family members. It was something that allowed us to really understand that it’s definitely doable — pro hockey is still attainable, from being around where we’re from in Manitoba.”
