NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Edmonton Oil Kings forward Josh Williams clears the zone while Medicine Hat Tigers forwad Cole Sillinger pressures during a Western Hockey League game on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019 at the Canalta Centre
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
He may be an Edmonton Oil King through and through, but it’s safe to say Josh Williams still loves playing at the Canalta Centre.
The former Medicine Hat Tigers centre was shipped to Edmonton in exchange for Brett Kemp at last season’s trade deadline and has been hitting new highs in the provincial capital ever since – including a career-best four-point night a 7-1 drubbing of the Tabbies on Dec. 14.
“It was a good one,” said Williams, a first-round bantam draft pick of Medicine Hat in 2016. “We put a good offensive performance in here tonight and luckily enough we got out of here with a win.”
Williams is in the thick of a wild battle for the top of the Central Division with his former team, and that win over Medicine Hat before the holiday break helped give his Oil Kings a bit of breathing room for top spot.
With his four-point performance in the victory, Williams pushed his production past the point-per-game mark just in time for the break. Spending the bulk of his time on a line with Riley Sawchuk and Carter Souch, the 18-year-old right-winger collected 16 goals and 20 assists over his first 35 games of the season to sit in the top 20 in the Western Hockey League’s scoring race.
“I’ve been playing with some great linemates this year,” said Williams, who posted 33 points over 66 games spent between the Tigers and Oil Kings last season.
“I think we have a pretty skilled team, so they’ve been helping me out a lot. Whoever I’m playing with on this team, they’ve all been helping me out a lot.”
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Langley product went overlooked at the NHL entry draft in June, but his recent uptick in production has been turning a few more heads in his direction and even earned him a place on Team WHL for the Canadian Hockey League’s Canada-Russia series. Although he was held off the scoresheet over his two games at the international event, Williams says it was still an unforgettable experience – both in terms of development and getting to play with a former teammate again.
“It was pretty cool playing at that high of a level,” said Williams. “And being with (Ryan) Chyzowski, an old teammate, getting to see him there too was pretty cool. I definitely enjoyed my experience there, it was a good time.”
