Hooker an 'impact player' for Jets

The Metro Jets sure would have loved to have Tim Hooker on the ice the first half of the season, but with the way he’s played the last nine games, they’ll take him for the second half.

Hooker, a 19-year-old White Lake native, missed about 20 games this year recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He made his season debut Dec. 5 at Queen City and since then has averaged a point a game for the Jets on six goals and three assists. Four of those goals came in the CSHL Showcase Dec. 18-21.

While some may be hesitant to go all-out after major surgery, Hooker has been anything but that so far for Metro.

“The shoulder definitely made a full recovery and I try not to worry about anything on the ice except playing my game,” Hooker said. “It took me awhile to get my wheels back and adjusting to the games, but I feel like I am improving every game and practice.”

Having Hooker in the lineup makes an impact, according to Jets coach Ryan Skop.

“Hook's an impact player for sure,” Skop said. “When he's on the ice, you can't help but notice. He's got great offensive skills, he's quick, he's got great vision, he shoots the puck well, and he's one of those guys who have a knack for putting the puck in the net.”

Hooker is a player the coaching staff is banking on to replace former captain Adam Novack, who wound up scoring 28 goals last season.

“Hook's been on our radar for a while now,” added Skop. “He's good friends with Woody (Metro defenseman Steve Lockwood) and last year, he was over at Ferris State, wanted to come back and play some hockey, so he signed with us and was ready to go, but for whatever reason, it didn’t work out. He did a good job keeping in contact with us all summer long and let us know he wanted to come back and play. That was big for us because we were looking for a real offensive guy to replace Novy after he moved on.

“A few weeks back in Cincinnati (Queen City), Hook was ready to go, and got his first game action of the season. He had a couple points that first weekend, but you could tell he was still kind of getting his legs back under him, getting his timing back, everything like that. A few weeks later, Hook's doing exactly what we expected him to do. He’s a power-play quarterback, he’s killing penalties and above all, he's putting up points.”

Currently centering a line with two other White Lake natives, Mike Denston and David Merkle, Hooker said the chemistry with that line was apparent from the first shift together.

“I've played with Merk since I was about 12, so the chemistry is always flowing there, and Denny has some good vision on the ice, too, so we fit perfect,” explained the 5-foot-8, 155-pound Hooker. “I've also played with Lockwood since I was about 10, so we can read each other on the ice real good, which helps when you have a defenseman like that to move the puck up on a rush.”

Speaking of moving up, that’s what Hooker intends on doing after this season.

“I hope to use this season to have as much fun as possible,” Hooker said. “I would definitely like to continue my hockey career at the next level, either playing another year of juniors or going to a university team.”

Still, with nine points in nine games, one wonders how many spots north in the standings the Jets might be had Hooker been healthy all season.

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD

The Jets played in the annual league showcase two weeks ago down in the Quad Cities and came up short with two losses each to Toledo and Chicago.

“We definitely had a disappointing performance,” said Skop. “We played well enough to win on Friday (vs. Toledo) and Saturday (vs. Chicago) when we had third period leads in both games and blew them. We simply didn't get the job done when it came time to play lockdown hockey and it cost us four points. Sunday and Monday we were just out-classed. (Goaltender Ian) Mercer stood on his head Monday and gave us a chance to win, but we just didn't put enough pucks in Chicago's net.”

Fri. Dec. 18 – Toledo 6, Metro 4 (Brett Grech two goals)
Sat. Dec. 19 – Chicago 7, Metro 4 (Hooker two goals, assist)
Sun. Dec. 20 – Toledo 7, Metro 1 (Mercer 39 saves)
Mon. Dec. 21 – Chicago 4, Metro 1 (Mercer 56 saves)

The Jets (7-21-0-3) are off this weekend before hosting Chicago next Saturday (7:40 p.m.) and Sunday (1:20 p.m.) at Lakeland Arena.

JET FUEL

Metro released forward Brian Fox last week.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Alec Benson-Dunn, a member of Metro’s national championship team in 2002, where he was the team’s leading scorer and MVP, is now the head coach of the upstart Loyola Marymount University ACHA team in Los Angeles.

It was Benson-Dunn’s goal midway through the third period in the 2002 national finals in Blaine, Minn., against the Phoenix Polar Bears that stood as the game-winner and gave the Jets a 3-2 victory.

After leaving the Jets, Benson-Dunn played for Springfield, Chicago and Helena in the North American Hockey League.

Photo by Andy Grossman