Victoria Royals center Eric Florchuk was just five-foot-four a few years ago. He grew an incredible nine inches in a short span and got himself on the radar of WHL teams. His bantam draft stock rose nearly as much as his height. It surged so much so, that the Royals took him with the 13th overall pick in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft.
Florchuk did not get much warning that his name was going to be called out by Victoria.
“At the time I had no idea that Victoria was interested in me. Leading up to the draft, Victoria had not contacted me beforehand. I think it was the day before-they contacted my Dad and asked if they would take me in the first round-would I sign? My Dad said yes and the end of the next day, they took me with their first pick,” Florchuk said.
The growth spurt may have helped draw the interest of scouts, but Florchuk has had to work hard to get the rest of his body to catch up.
“That was the biggest part. My body grew lengthwise and my bones grew instead of my muscles, so with some hard work, my muscles have started to catch up.”
This was something that he spent a lot of time working on this last summer as well. “My strength can always improve. That’s probably one thing I can always improve upon. With strength comes the shot and my shot is probably the one weakness at this level. I think when my strength comes in-my shot will come in as well.”
Florchuk did not get the opportunity to play with the Royals as a 15-year-old, like many first round bantam picks do. However, it was due to circumstances outside of his control.
“When I was 15, Victoria was really good. Throughout the year, they did not have many injuries. When they came to town, they were on like a 10 or 11-game win streak so I understood that they were doing well, so there was no point in me hopping in there.”
While he didn’t get to play in the WHL that year, he did get the rare treat of representing Canada at the ISBHF World U16 Street and Ball Hockey Championships in Sheffield, England. Florchuk and Canada took home gold.
“That was a blast. It was a great experience for sure. It started out just being fun and we ended up actually going to Worlds with it. It ended up being that I was invited back to Nationals again this coming summer.”
He then got to play for the maple leaf again at the World Under-17 World Hockey Challenge. He and Team Canada Black fell just short, winning silver.
“That was another really fun experience. Whenever you can represent your country-that is always a blessing and a privilege. Being there-playing with a bunch of guys from across Canada at the same level as you-is always a great time. I learned some French along the way from some Q guys. It was a really good time.”
Florchuk has already seen his production this year (14 points in 19 games) eclipse that of his entire season as a 16-year-old (nine points). When asked how he has done this, a familiar refrain is repeated.
“Definitely strength. Last year was more of a learning year for me. In the process, I gained a lot more confidence and strength and over the summer I gained a lot more. It’s just been about helping my overall game grow more and looking forward to more improvement coming up.” He is up to a wright of 173 pounds-10 more than last year at this time.
Florchuk has already proven to Victoria Head Coach Dan Price that he has the ability to play throughout the lineup.
“The first few games, I started centering (Matthew) Phillips and (Regan) Nagy and when (Tyler) Soy came back, I centered the two Russians-(Igor) Martynov and (Yan) Khomenko and now it is Khomenko and (Jared) Legien. It’s nice when you have the coach’s trust and can play with whoever.”
Florchuk’s team is out to a B.C. Division-leading 13-5-1-0 start. He credits how tight the locker room is with playing a big role in the fast start.
“We are close on and off the ice. Especially off the ice. Whenever the guys are free, everyone is doing something together and hanging out. I think that has led to success on the ice. Also, the guys buying into what we have planned for systems and everything has been big.”
Florchuk has learned a lot from Soy in particular. The Anaheim Ducks draft pick has provided a good example.
“Last year I watched him him a lot. He was our top center-man last year. As a young guy, you look at the older guys and watch what they do to succeed at that level and that’s what I did last year. I just added some of his stuff to my game.”
Florchuk will eventually get his strength to catch up to his height. Once this happens, his ceiling for the NHL draft will rise up as much as he did physically during that incredible growth spurt.
