Originally posted March 1, 2019.
In his career, Jake Kustra has not had the chance to play in the WHL playoffs.
Before this season, his former club, the Saskatoon Blades have been on the outside looking in of the post-season. Now with the Victoria Royals, the rugged defenceman will surely get a chance to experience the playoffs.
“It’s very exciting after missing the playoffs for four years,” said Kustra. “I’ve heard it’s a lot different kind of hockey, so I’m really excited to finally play in some playoff games here.”
Kustra plays a hard-nosed, physical game for Victoria and it is a style that will be important in the ultra competitive playoffs. When asked if his style of play is suited for playoff battles, Kustra said, “I think so. I can help on the back end and be a hard to play against kind of guy. The playoffs are very intense and physically demanding, so I think can fit in well with that style.”
The wait
After playing in 169 games over four seasons with the Saskatoon Blades, Kustra was dealt while injured to the Royals on December 10th. The product of Yorktown, Saskatchewan had played 10 games this season for Saskatoon before suffering a leg injury. Once traded, it took a little while for Kustra to suit up for his new club and get healed up.
“It was a long wait and I was pretty anxious to get playing in front of the new fans. I had to make sure I was healed up and ready to play. Once I made it through that it was really nice and I was really excited.”
The trade
The defenceman was traded along with a 2019 7th round WHL bantam draft pick to the Royals for a 2019 4th round pick. At the time of the trade, in a team release Blades General Manager Colin Priestner said “Jake has been a warrior for our club for the past three and a half seasons, but with nine defenceman on our roster we felt this was a good return and ultimately a great opportunity for Jake to get back to playing once he’s medically cleared.”
That opportunity took Kustra to Victoria, a team and city he admittedly was not completely familiar with. “I didn’t know a whole lot about the Royals. I knew there they’ve been really good for the past few years, had good coaching and heard it’s a great place to play. But overall I didn’t know a whole lot other than the good things I’d heard.”
After not spending a lot of time in Victoria previously, the defenceman has now had time to get familiar with his new city, “I had played here one game a couple years ago, so I did not get a chance to see much of the city at that time. But it’s a really beautiful place.”
Opportunities ahead
Toughness is one attribute Kustra brings to the Royals, but there are other aspects of his game that the club is counting on. When Royals Head Coach Dan Price was asked what Kustra brings to the team, he said, “Physical presence for sure. He’s also a very good puck mover with a tremendous shot. I would say an underrated shot. He’s starting to get some power play time, which is new for him on this team. We want to take advantage of that shot. He’s also a tremendous teammate and a guy we love having around.”
Now fully healed, Kustra is looking forward to the expanded role going into the playoffs. “After not playing for so long, I’m now getting the confidence back in my body. I think I will help a lot and have more opportunity.”
The blueliner likes his clubs chances in the post-season. “I feel pretty confident. We have a really good team, probably one of the strongest teams in the BC division, if not the strongest. We have a chance to beat any team in this league on any given night and if we play our best, I think we can beat anyone.”
