Arvin Jaswal prefers a little alone time before a game.
Look up into the empty stands about an hour-and-a-half before puck drop, and there you’ll find the ever-focused Barrie Colts goaltender by himself, staring at the ice below.
“That’s my switch from warmup to getting in game-ready mode,” said the 17-year-old native of Pickering. “I go into the stands, I visualize everything on the ice. Do my eye movements, my arm movements. I look dumb, but it’s just what I do.
“It’s part of my pregame, and I’m just going to keep that going because it’s been working out.”
Man, has it ever.
The young Colts’ standout continued his impressive run between the pipes Wednesday afternoon, making 29 saves in a 4-2 decision over the Brampton Steelheads at CAA Centre to improve his win streak to 12 games.
Jaswal hasn’t lost a game since a tough 6-3 loss on the road in Sudbury on Nov. 28. Only twice has he given up more than two goals in a game during the run.
“I couldn’t have done this without any of the coaching staff and the guys around me,” said Jaswal of the win streak. “They’ve been working so hard, and so have I. I just try not to think about it.
“Obviously, winning 12 in a row is great. Winning is great, but I just got to keep working to keep it going.”
Jaswal’s overall numbers are just as impressive: a sparkling 2.21 goals against average and .928 save percentage have helped put together a 16-3-0-1 record in his first full season in the OHL.
The six-foot-two, 178-pound goalie has turned heads with his calm, cool, steady play in the net, and that maturity has caught the attention of NHL scouts.
Jaswal is ranked 23rd among eligible North American goaltenders, just behind the 19th-overall ranking of starting goalie and crease mate Ben Hrebik.
“He’s only a 17-year-old kid, only a second-year eligible in this league, but it’s not like this guy feels that the stage is ever too big, or the light’s too bright,” said Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz. “He does have that emotional maturity about him where he can settle into a game.
“He’s a fierce competitor. He gets in other guys’ faces. He’s a real steady Eddy for us back there. You know the effort you’re going to get, the performance you’re going to get. He hasn’t had a dud of a game in a long time. He’s so consistent, so steady. The kid puts in a ton of work.”
Spotted an early first-period lead on goals by Brad Gardiner, Parker von Richter, and Emil Hemming, Jaswal was his usual steady self for Barrie.
While a goal on a penalty shot early in the third by Nathan Amidovski and a late goal by Julian DeMiglio brought the school day game crowd of 4,264 to life, Jaswal had things under control.
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Smoskowitz has preached all year long that he truly has two No. 1 goalies. While Hrebik is the clear starter, Jaswal has shown he can carry a bigger load, if need be.
“It’s such a luxury to have two guys when you go into a long playoff run, which we hope we have here in Barrie, where if one guy goes down, one guy is dealing with an injury, you don’t have to risk your whole season on someone who has never been in the spotlight before,” said Smoskowitz.
“Both Ben and Arvin have shown they’re both capable of taking a team to that promised land on a deep playoff run. We love Ben. Ben’s our guy, and our No. 1, and Jazz is a great No. 2 for us. At the end of the day, we have all the faith in Jazz as well.”
Jaswal spent all last season with the Colts, despite never getting into a game. Still, the everyday work with goaltending coach Dave Belitski has paid off big this season.
“I really understand the game now, and that it’s super mental,” he said. “Obviously, the physical component is huge, but when I’m out there, it’s just being focused. When a goal goes in, I just forget about it.
“So, being mentally strong is huge for me. I’ve really learned that this year.”
His relationship with Hrebik has also helped. The veteran is always supportive of his young crease mate and is there when he needs him to be.
“Ever since last year, the first time I met him, he’s just been a great guy for me,” Jaswal said of Hrebik. “He kind of acts like my big brother, and I really appreciate that from him. He’s an unreal goalie, and I couldn’t be prouder of him, but he’s an even better person.
“I’ve been able to hang out with him all year, and even last year, although I was a rookie. I’ve just built that strong relationship with him, and we kind of keep each other accountable.”
The win moved Barrie (42-12-2-4) to within a point of Brantford atop both the Eastern Conference and OHL overall standings.
After having an 11-game win streak ended with a 3-0 loss in Windsor on Saturday, the Colts can move ahead of the Bulldogs Thursday night when the two heavyweights meet at Sadlon Arena.
“Obviously, we needed the bounce-back game, and that was huge for us,” Jaswal said of getting out to an early lead in Brampton. “We were working hard all game, and we were able to come out with the two points.
“We have Brantford tomorrow, and we’ve been thinking about it since the last time we played them, so today was a good setup for tomorrow, and we’re just going to come out and hopefully get the two points tomorrow.
Kashawn Aitcheson continued his assault on the Colts’ record book with 21 seconds remaining in the second period of Wednesday’s rare morning start.
His one-timer from the faceoff dot, with Barrie on the power play, found the back of the net before Steelheads goalie Zach Bowen could even flinch. The goal was his 27th of the season, surpassing his own previous franchise record of 26 goals in a single season by a defenceman, which he set last season.
Aitcheson leads all OHL defencemen with 64 points in 49 games.
“Definitely typical Kash,” said Smoskowitz, of the familiar one-timer. “Even though it’s loud in that building, you could hear him screaming for that puck. (Cole) Beaudoin made a great play over to (Cole) Emerton, and Emerton put it over to Kash, and as soon as he got all of it, there are not many goalies in this league, in the world actually, that can stop Kash bombs.”
Smoskowitz was happy to see contributions from up and down his lineup in a game that could have been a bit of a trap game with Brantford coming in the next night.
Brampton (15-35-6-3) has now lost 12 straight and is likely to miss this year’s playoffs.
“I don’t think it was one line controlling the pace for us, or one line that slowed us down,” said Smoskowitz. “I liked all four lines and all three pairings. I thought Jaswal had a good game.
“So, if you look at the group as a whole, and how everybody pulled in the same direction, I liked the depth of our team today.”
UP NEXT
The aforementioned rematch between Barrie and Brantford is Thursday night in Barrie.
Meanwhile, the Steelheads are in Kingston on Friday in the first of two games on an eastern Ontario road trip.
ICE CHIPS
By way of Brampton's loss to Barrie, Kingston clinched a playoff berth.
Barrie winger Joe Salandra (day-to-day) missed his third straight game and is unlikely to play this weekend. “There’s an outside chance for Saturday, and the only reason I say outside is that we play Saturday, and we just might as well give him an extra week to rest,” said Smoskowitz.
Beaudoin had two assists and is tied with Flint’s Nathan Aspinall for second in OHL scoring with 82 points.
Barrie outshot Brampton 42-31.
Parker von Richter, who was acquired from the Steelheads at the trade deadline, had a goal and assist and was named the game’s first star in what is likely his last game in Brampton.
The rare morning start for the Colts meant waking up at 6 a.m., then being at the rink by 6:45 a.m., before heading out on the road at 7:15 a.m. Add in 4,000 screaming school-age kids, and it’s quite the day. “For them to put that aside and not care so much about it, and just get down to work and have a good start like that, that carried us the rest of the game,” said Smoskowitz.
Barrie signed free-agent defenceman Luke Howard on Wednesday. The 18-year-old from Woodbridge has split time with Aurora and Toronto in the OJHL, putting up eight goals and 36 assists in a combined 46 games.
ADD. OHL
London 5 Guelph 2
Soo 4 Flint 3 (SO)
Kitchener 5 Sarnia 3
