Huskies’ Dzierkals picks perfect time to score first tournament goal

By KRISTINA RUTHERFORD, SPORTSNET

RED DEER, Alta. – It was about 3:30 a.m. back home in Latvia when Martins Dzierkals scored the biggest goal of his career in North America, the one that sealed a place for his team in the MasterCard Memorial Cup Final.

The 19-year-old Toronto Maple Leafs prospect snuck a shaky backhand through the legs of Red Deer Rebels goalie Rylan Toth on Friday night, and it stood as the winner in a 3-1 victory over the hosts.

What a time to score his first of the tournament.

“I know,” Dzierkals said, grinning. “It wasn’t the best goal, but I’ll take it.”

Still wearing his full equipment, a black hat, red Nike runners and a smile you couldn’t wipe off, Diezrkals says he had a big contingent watching back home, despite the time difference.

“My friends are crazy about Memorial Cup,” said the kid the Leafs selected in the third round in 2015, 68th overall. “They already congratulated me, sent me phone messages about the goal.”

It’s only two years ago that Dzierkals, who everyone calls Marty, found out about the trophy he’ll play for on Sunday. That’s when his countryman, Edgars Kulda, who now plays in the KHL, won Memorial Cup MVP as a member of the Edmonton Oil Kings.

“In Latvia, everyone loves hockey, and if some guy gets an award like that, it’s a huge thing.”

Dzierkals started playing hockey at three and a half, and grew up in Latvia’s capital city of Riga with two older brothers. “One is defence and one is a goalie and I’m a forward, so we have a full combo,” he said. He made his way to Rouyn-Noranda after coach Gilles Bouchard spotted him at an under-18 tournament in Switzerland last year, and took him 22nd overall in the CHL Import Draft earlier this year.

“After a couple games, I fell in love with him,” Bouchard said, of the first time he saw Dzierkals play. “He’s fast. His skill is so good. A skilled player sometimes doesn’t like to go in front of the net, create traffic. But him, he finishes checks, he’s in front of the net. He’s very good for our team, and he’s so happy to play with us.”

Dzierkals, who’s speedy down the right wing, is relatively small at 5-foot-11 and 170 lbs., but he’s a real pest in the corners and in front of the net. He says his game has come a long way since the start of the season, when he was still adapting to the smaller ice surface. He finished the regular season with 67 points in 59 games, including 24 goals.

“I got more shifty, I got more speed, and I’m getting more physical,” he said of his progress this season. “I think my body is getting bigger.”

On the biggest goal of his junior career so far, he picked up a loose puck from the half-boards and wheeled toward the net.

“I shot it on my backhand and somehow it went in,” he said, grinning. “That’s a goal!”

Dzierkals took his mouth guard out to properly celebrate the occasion, then pumped his fists and yelled while his teammates mobbed him. His backhand put the Huskies up 2-0, and came seconds after captain Francis Perron converted on the power play, scoring his first of the tournament, wiring a one-time pass from Sharks first-rounder Timo Meier and labelling it for the top shelf.

The Rebels never recovered after that, despite firing 37 shots on Huskies goalie Chase Marchand, including a barrage of chances late in the third. They saluted the crowd afterwards, and a couple teary-eyed Rebels faced the media after the game. Marchand “stood on his head,” as Rebels forward Adam Helewka put it.

As the final seconds ticked down, Dzierkals and his teammates stood on the bench and watched the clock. Then they all skated off the bench and mobbed Marchand, who played his best game of the tournament.

Dzierkals says he was at his best on Friday, and also earlier in the tournament against London, a game the Huskies lost 5-2, including an empty-netter. He’ll have to play even better on Sunday, he said, for his team to have a chance against a Knights squad that hasn’t lost since April 1.

“We’re gonna do everything,” Dzierkals said, wide-eyed. “It’s the last game of the season, so we’re gonna put our bodies on the line and do everything to win.”

Hard as it may be to believe, he only learned English this year. When he made a visit to Toronto to meet with the Maple Leafs – his first time in North America – Dzierkals didn’t speak a word of English. “That was hard for me,” he said.

It was also quite the eye-opener.

“I didn’t know much about the Maple Leafs. There was a lot of media, a lot of fans,” he said. “I’ve never seen that many fans – they were crazy. A lot of signatures. Everyone loves hockey in Toronto.”

Only 21 Latvians have ever played in the NHL – “that’s true, we’re a small country,” he said – and it’s his goal to become No. 22.

“For sure,” he said. “NHL is everyone’s goal, to play there. Lifelong dream.”

But first things first. The rematch between London and Rouyn-Noranda comes Sunday at 4:30 pm ET, with that big trophy Dzierkals recently found out about on the line.

“We want to win that really, really bad,” he said. “We want the cup.”

You better believe a lot of Latvians will be tuning in to watch.

“The game is at 2:30 in the afternoon, right?” he said, grinning. “It’s gonna be evening in Latvia. That’s perfect.”

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