Forgettable start for Philly forward

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This article was published 17/11/2016 (3276 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PHILADELPHIA — It’s safe to say Dale Weise won’t be doing a whole lot of scrapbooking to mark the highlights from the early part of the current NHL season.

The Philadelphia Flyers forward would just as soon take a do-over than preserve the memories of the last five weeks.

Weise was still looking for his first goal of the season heading into Thursday’s contest with the Winnipeg Jets, Philadelphia’s 18th game of the year. The 28-year-old Winnipeg native had just two assists in the 13 games he’s played (he missed three games due to a suspension), prior to the matchup with the Jets.

He says fighting off the discouragement has been tough.

“You know what, it has probably been the worst start for me, I think, of any level I’ve ever played — junior, the minors, the NHL. It’s been frustrating,” Weise said following Flyers practice on Wednesday. “When you haven’t scored in a long time and you’re having a tough start, it’s difficult.

“Right now, I’m not playing as much and I’m struggling with confidence to make plays.”

In fact, the regular-season scoring drought goes back months for Weise, who’s been somewhat of a vagabond with stops in New York (Rangers), Vancouver, Montreal, Chicago and Philly over his six-year NHL career.

The last time Weise fired a puck past an NHL goalie during the regular season was on Feb. 19 — 29 games ago — when, as a member of the Canadiens, he scored against the Flyers in a 3-2 victory at the Bell Centre.

The pending unrestricted free agent was dealt by Montreal to Chicago just days later, and he would come up empty in the team’s final 15 games of the season, although he scored once during Chicago’s ill-fated, first-round playoff series with the St. Louis Blues.

He finished with a career-high 14 goals in 71 games with Montreal and Chicago.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound right-winger inked a four-year deal with Philadelphia on July 1, a contract reportedly worth US$9.4 million. The fit, he said, seemed perfect for a physical forward with a strong work ethic and scoring touch. So far, very little has gone according to plan.

“I came in and had a good camp. I played (four) games and I got suspended,” said Weise, who was punished for delivering an illegal check to the head of Anaheim Ducks defenceman Korbinian Holzer on Oct. 20. “Then I came back, got pushed down the lineup a little bit. It’s been tough to get into a rhythm.

“One hundred per cent you start to force things, absolutely. It seems when you haven’t broken the ice, you grip the stick too hard — you’re trying to do too many things.”

As a team, the Flyers haven’t found that rhythm, either. The Metropolitan Division club has been hovering around the .500 mark for much of the season, scoring often but offsetting that ability with a rash of ill-timed defensive miscues and a goalie tandem enduring a particularly rough stretch.

“Our team is struggling to be consistent. We win one, then we lose one. We’re trying to find combinations that work for us,” said Weise, who was drafted out of the Western Hockey League (Swift Current) by the Rangers in the fourth round of the 2008 NHL Draft.

“We’re in every game, but we’re giving up points because we’re giving up goals in the last five minutes of one-goal games. These early points matter. We need to start stringing some wins together.”

Production from the club’s recently formed line of Weise, centre Nick Cousins and left-winger Chris VandeVelde would aid that cause. The former Swift Current Broncos assistant captain said the trio is beginning to develop some harmony.

“We’ve played two games together now and it’s been good. I think we’re starting to find a little bit of chemistry out there,” said Weise, who chipped in an assist in the Flyers 3-2 shootout loss to the visiting Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.

“It’s been frustrating, but the last couple of games I feel like I’m starting to find myself again and feel like I’m in a bit of a rhythm.”

Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol is noticing those positive signs as well.

“His game is coming. I’m confident he’s going to continue to build and grow his game,” said Hakstol. “From there, we’ve got to try and expand the amount of ice time he’s getting. He’s starting to play a power forward-type game with good confidence with the puck, and I’ve seen really good signs of that the last four or five games.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell