Beau Bennett, Ray Ferraro, Brett Hull, Paul Kariya, Chuck Kobasew, Joe Murphy and now Scott Conway. The Penticton Vees forward will soon be joining some elite company, as the team’s leading scorer is knocking on the door of two significant milestones.
Conway’s next goal will be his 50th and he’s a couple of points away from joining the century club as well; the first Vee to hit 100 points since 2010. What he’s done this year is pretty remarkable.
The 20-year-old bagged a hat-trick Saturday in the Vees 4-3 win in Trail, the third time he’s scored three in a game, and now sits on 49 going into this weekend. In fact, Conway has had two or more goals in a game 13 times this season and his longest “scoring drought” is a measly three games. He’s got a point in every game in 2016 and his current 13-game point streak dates back to December 19th. 13 is an impressive number but pales in comparison to what he did earlier this season. He still holds the longest point streak in the BCHL this season at 31-games, which spanned three months or 89 days; September 16th, to December 15th.
To truly appreciate what Conway is doing this season, maybe we need to compare his stats to others before him.The last Vees to hit 100 points were Beau Bennett and Denver Manderson in 2009-2010. Bennett led the BCHL in scoring that season with 120 points and Manderson was third with 113. Remember, Conway will be hitting the 100 point mark in two less games than those two, as the BCHL still was playing a 60-game schedule that season; the league now is down to 58. Conway also missed two games earlier this season on a college recruiting trip, so in fact, he will hit triple digits in four-less games than those two; both are now playing pro hockey. When Conway gets to 100, which will very likely be this weekend, he will be the 37th player in franchise history to do so.
When it comes to goal-scoring, the veteran forward will be joining an even more exclusive club. Only 22-players have scored 50 plus goals in franchise history and there hasn’t been a 50-goal guy on a Penticton team in the last 16 years (!). You have to trace back all the way to the 1999-2000 season, when the Vees were known as the Panthers to find the last 50-goal scorer. Chuck Kobasew had 54 that season for the Panthers, before embarking on an 11-year NHL career. How long ago was that? Well, the top billboard song was “Breathe” by Faith Hill, the Oscar for Best Film went to Russell Crowe’s “Gladiator,” and Facebook and Twitter didn’t even exist.
Conway is rubbing elbows with some elite names when it comes to 50-goals. Hull, Ferraro, Murphy and Kobasew all are 50-goal guys and they all went on to have very successful NHL careers. In today’s game, when scoring goals is getting harder and harder by the day, Conway is making it look like a hobby.
Not only does Conway score and score a lot, but he does so in the clutch. He leads the BCHL in game-winning goals with 13 and has 22 game-winning points. Of his 49 goals 22 have come in close situations, which means when the game is tied or within one goal. Oh, yeah, he also has four overtime goals to his name. Keep in mind his 49-goals is more than what the Vees top scorer last year had in points (47).
Despite all his goals, points and success, Conway is one most competitive players you’ll come across, and it’s all about wins, not points, in his eyes. How good of a team guy is he? Well, last Saturday, with a hat-trick in his back pocket and on two-on-one rush, staring down 50-goals, Conway decided not to shoot but pass to his teammate Tyson Jost. Conway had every right to keep the puck and go for his milestone goal but him passing shows you what he’s all about.
You could say scoring is in Conway’s blood, as his dad Kevin was a 60-goal guy in the OHL in the early 80’s with the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds and continued his scoring prowess across the Atlantic. Kevin played parts of 18 seasons in the British Ice Hockey League and one season scored a pedestrian 148 goals. In total Scott’s dad had almost 900 goals in 360 games in British pro hockey.
Scott was born in the U.K. when his dad was playing pro hockey and he still carries a British passport, as he didn’t make the move across the pond until he was 14. The Vees have 10-games left and Conway still has plenty of time to pad his stats and climb his way up the all-time points list.
Who knew a kid from Basingstoke, England, may go down as one of the best scorers in Vees history.
