Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Claire Hobbs scoops the puck up outside the blueline and lobs it 20 feet in the air before catching it on her stick, going in alone and scoring a between-the-legs goal on the Griffins mascot.
In this case, it's the team's submission for the Canada West women's hockey skills competition, but it could have been every day for Hobbs, who has been practising hockey trick shots for years.
"Actually, me and a few other girls, we used to fool around and make these trick shot videos back when we were in peewee and atom," said the Griffins forward. "We made an Instagram account and posted hockey trick shot videos. I've just always like fooled around with the puck, stickhandling, throwing pucks in the air."
The account, shared with longtime Calgary-area pals Sarah Wozniewicz (Wisconsin) and Gracie Gilkyson (Yale), shall go unmentioned.
"It's a little bit cringy," laughed Hobbs.
As background information, though, her willingness to work on the finer points of offensive skills throughout the years points to the type of player she is. It's clear there is some untapped offensive potential for a forward beginning to come into her own in her second Canada West season.
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— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) December 15, 2022
"She has some high-end skill," said MacEwan interim head coach Chris Leeming. "The biggest thing that's allowed her to find some success and create some opportunities for herself is she's just been competing so much harder. We've added a little bit of a physicality element to her game, and it's allowed her to express her skill at a higher level. She's able to create more time and space for herself."
Hobbs will lead the Griffins into a weekend series vs. Regina on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m., Downtown Community Arena, Canada West TV).
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The Rocky Mountain Raiders and Calgary Fire product has just a goal and an assist in 18 games this season, but her game has been focused on building the foundation of all the details needed to be successful. Eventually, that will pay off with production.
"Growing up, I've really been focused a lot of the offensive side of things, but coming to university, I realized in order to get on offence you need to do the defensive things and the little things right to get the puck, as well," said Hobbs. "So, in the D zone, blocking shots and being well positionally, trying to get the puck from the other team so you can attack on offence is a big piece for me to start focusing on. That's really helped provide me with more offensive chances."
Claire Hobbs looks for an opening against Calgary last weekend (Joel Kingston photo).
Leeming believes it's only a matter of time before Hobbs hits the scoresheet more often.
"She's only in her second year and she's already creating scoring chances every game for us," he said. "It's there. If she starts to convert on those, a lot of the games we've been in could have different outcomes.
"She's always asking questions and she wants to get better," he added. "I think that's a big driving force behind her growth here this year. She hasn't necessarily translated that into points, but she's creating opportunities, so that tells me she's doing something right because every game she's got two or three Grade A scoring chances."
Any offence from anybody on the Griffins would be welcome right now as the team has gone more than 10 periods without scoring – a span of 211 minutes and 38 seconds. They've been shut out in three straight (Alberta before Christmas and then twice to Calgary last weekend).
"We've been focusing more on getting bodies in front of the goalies, taking away the eyes because obviously it's a lot harder to save a puck you can't see," said Hobbs. "That's been a big focus for us and will be a big focus for us at practice this week. It's just getting bodies in front and shooting from everywhere, just trying to get those rebounds."
The process has actually been there for the Griffins, but the execution hasn't.
"We've played very well and we created scoring chances," said Leeming. "They're just not going in at the moment. That's just our roadblock, so it's being consistent and staying committed to what we have been doing to create those opportunities and find a way to put more of them in the back of the net."