Watching Prince Albert Raiders right wing Spencer Moe play is a real treat. The diminutive play-maker is always creating. So far this season, he has four goals and two assists for six points, through 24 games, but the way he makes stuff happen, you get the feeling he could have a statistical breakthrough at any point.
Moe is one of many smaller players in the WHL, who years ago would have been counted out for the NHL draft. Former Spokane Chiefs forward Tyler Johnson and current Victoria Royals center Matthew Phillips have helped pave the way for the smaller guys. Johnson just signed a lucrative contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, while the Calgary Flames drafted Phillips back in 2016.
Moe is well aware of his stature and smartly uses any chance he has to improve his strengths, rather than try and make himself into a player that he is not. “I’m not the biggest guy on the ice but I try to work on my speed and quickness because that is what is going to be the biggest advantage for me, especially since I’m only like 5-foot-6.. That is what work on in the off-season-my lower body strength and my speed.”
Moe was drafted by the Raiders with the 28th pick in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft. His fellow forwards Cole Fonstad and Carson Miller were taken before him in that draft. They are all part of a young group up front that has shown flashes of great potential. “We are three young guys-we are still only 17-second year in the league. We still have a lot of years left in the league. We really are close together and I feel like in the future we will have a great core here.”
An older forward in the locker room has provided Moe with a strong example of what hard work can do for you. “(Parker) Kelly-he went undrafted, he had a rough start to the year kind of picked it up in the second half and now he’s signed with the Ottawa Senators. I’m taking bits and pieces from his game and I think it has helped me, especially scoring.”
Speaking of scoring, Moe is someone who is always looking for his chance to shoot. He received some good advice awhile back that pushed him to try and get the puck on net, whenever he can. He has done that, firing 42 shots on net already this year. “I always taught myself to shoot it whenever you get the chance to. I’ve always been told that its selfish to always be passing-you need to shoot more. I take my opportunities and try to score on them.”
Moe got into one game as a 15-year-old in 2015-16 and it was quite the eye-opener for him. “I did not know much. I had never played with them when I played that first game against Kootenay. It’s a lot faster pace and it is a lot more physical. I took that and worked on that’s stuff and built on it. I tried to set myself up for my 16-year-old year.”
In his rookie season, he scored six times and added eight assists for 14 points in 61 games. It took him awhile to get comfortable with the league and everything attached to life in the WHL. “It was kind of a surprise because it’s a lot tougher than the AMHL. It took quite a bit to get comfortable. I think I got my first goal like 35 games in. It took some time, but now I am used to it.”
This year, Moe got to experience something something new when the Raiders took to the road and traveled to play the teams in the U.S. Division. “It’s something different for sure. In the U.S., after every goal you have some special chant. Different atmosphere for sure as you have bigger rinks than in Saskatchewan and Alberta.”
Moe notched two of his goals this year, on the trip. He definitely stands out for his stature, working on his current line with Brett Leason (six-foot-four) and Justin Nachbaur (six-foot-three). Where his skills lie, though adds a nice dimension to this line. The two bigger guys also help him find a little room and work on the areas of his game that he feels need the most attention.
“My shot-I need to try to work on that. I’m a smaller guy so I have to work on getting space . My speed has been working for me well on my line with Nachbaur and Leason.”
If Moe is looking for a more recent example of someone on the smaller side of things getting NHL interest, he needs to look no further than a guy he played against a couple weeks ago, Kailer Yamamoto. The five-foot-eight right wing was taken in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers and played in nine NHL games as a 19-year-old this year. While Moe has a ways to go, before he is on the level of Yamamoto, he can take solace in knowing that size is not something NHL general managers are holding against players anymore.
