For forward Atley Calvert, a slow start to the season saw the overager struggling to put up points on a consistent basis -- but things began to improve, and it wasn’t long before Calvert was on his familiar 40-goal, point-a-game pace.
Then came the middle of January, and things changed dramatically for the better.
An assist in the Warriors' 6-3 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off what has turned into a 17-game point-scoring streak, and it wasn’t long before Calvert was putting up points at a pace unlike any player in the league.
OnThursday afternoon, the Western Hockey League acknowledged just how much of a hot streak the highest-scoring Moose Jaw-born Warrior in history has been on.
Calvert was named the WHL Player of the Month for February, becoming the first Warrior to win the award since linemate Matthew Savoie claimed the honour in December 2021, while a member of the Winnipeg Ice and the first Warrior proper to win since Brayden Tracey in February 2019.
Calvert spent his entire February on an ungodly tear, averaging more than two points a game through 12 games and recording 13 goals and 27 points in that span.
Calvert recorded eight multi-point performances, highlighted by a five-point night that included a hat trick in a 12-3 win at Spokane on Saturday, February 24. Calvert also logged a four-point performance, including another hat trick, in a 5-2 win versus Edmonton on Tuesday, February 6.
The Prairie Hockey Academy grad put up 40 goals and 73 points in 67 games last season and has set new career highs in all offensive categories. Calvert is currently 12th in WHL points with 83 and is sixth in the league with 41 goals.
Calvert’s ongoing point streak is the fourth-longest in the WHL this season, with teammate Jagger Firkus holding the longest run at 26 games, Denton Mateychuk the third-highest mark at 23 games and Brayden Yager the 10th longest at 15 games.
Calvert was listed by the Warriors in October 2018 after a stellar showing in PHA’s inaugural season before eventually signing a WHL Standard Player Agreement during the fall of 2019. Since then, Calvert has skated in 227 career games with the Warriors, collecting 99 goals and 207 points along the way.
Calvert is unsigned professionally, but most recently skated in camp with the Pittsburgh Penguins this past fall.
Calvert and the Warriors are back in action on Friday night when they face the Everett Silvertips.
-- with files from WHL.ca
-- with files from WHL.ca
