By Bob Kowalski
Special to the Star-Telegram
Rookie forward Sy Nutkevitch got simple advice when he joined the Fort Worth Brahmas.
"They told me if I just play to my strengths, good things will happen," said Nutkevitch.
He listened, and they were right.
Nutkevitch enters the weekend third among Central Hockey League rookies in scoring (23 points on eight goals and 15 assists) and first in plus-minus (plus-13), four points higher than the nearest competitor.
The sixth-place Brahmas (15-12-4) play back-to-back games at the Fort Worth Convention Center this weekend, facing Rapid City at 7:30 tonight and Tulsa at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Fort Worth is an impressive 11-2-4 at home, 3-0 at the convention center.
As for Nutkevitch, the native of Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, a neighboring city of Montreal, likes the laid-back style of Texans and their affinity for pickup trucks.
He's anything but laid-back on the ice, doing what Brahmas coach Dan Wildfong calls "the little things" like digging out pucks, blocking shots and playing hard every shift.
"He's not the biggest guy out there, so he's got to rely on his work ethic and a good stick," said Wildfong. "He's got to compete with other players."
The results are showing up on the scoresheet and in the standings. In his past five games since returning from a week on injured reserve, Nutkevitch has three goals and three assists. One of the goals came on a penalty shot in a 6-2 victory over Missouri at the convention center on Dec. 22. Nutkevitch swept across the front of the net, drawing the goalie with him, then slid the puck behind the netminder inside the far post.
The next game, five days later at Tulsa, he had another chance to go one-on-one, scoring the same way to clinch a shootout win for Fort Worth.
"For the penalty shot move, it was something I felt comfortable with," he said. "In Tulsa, they hadn't seen it, so I used the same move."
Wildfong said Nutkevitch is playing with a lot of confidence right now and he's counting on that production to continue into the playoffs. The forward joined the Brahmas last spring after finishing his college career at State University of New York Potsdam. He had two goals and five points in seven regular-season games with Fort Worth, and added six points in 12 playoff games.
His mother, who's an occupational therapist, watches all of his games on the Internet but hasn't seen Nutkevitch play in person as a pro yet. She's planning a trip to Texas later this month to see him in action.
For now, Brahmas veterans like linemate Phil Fox, Ross Rouleau, Brendon Hodge and Chad Woollard set an example for younger players such as Nutkevitch as the team pushes toward a postseason berth.
"It's fun to play with Sy," said Fox. "He's got tremendous vision on the ice."
But Nutkevitch already has learned that there's work involved in being successful as a pro.
"The standings are extremely tight," Nutkevich said. "Clearly we want to have home ice (in the playoffs). It's a big, big advantage for us."
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/01/03/4522900/rookie-sy-nutkevitch-helping-fort.html#storylink=cpy
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