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Pontiac Jake Gresh named AJHL defensive player of the week

A lot of eyes lately have been on Bonnyville Pontiacs defenceman Jake Gresh and the league has begun to take notice as well. Gresh was awarded the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) defensive player of the week for the week of Nov. 21.
Jake Gresh was named the AJHL defensive player of the week for Nov. 21.
Jake Gresh was named the AJHL defensive player of the week for Nov. 21.

A lot of eyes lately have been on Bonnyville Pontiacs defenceman Jake Gresh and the league has begun to take notice as well.

Gresh was awarded the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) defensive player of the week for the week of Nov. 21.

“It was kind of a surprise, my mom sent me a text and I said ‘whoa I haven't seen that before',” said Gresh.

The native of Avon, Connecticut is in his first full season with the Pontiacs, and has recorded 26 points in 28 games with his new team.

“I have to give credit to my coaches for teaching me how to use my skill set and it's really paid off so far and I just have to keep it up,” added Gresh.

“It's a real testament to where his game has come from, he was a high risk kid that has now become committed to the defensive side game. It's great to see him get recognized, he's very coachable and has a great attitude,” said head coach Rick Swan.

Gresh sees himself as someone who can help in the offensive zone as well as the defensive zone.

“I am an offensive defenceman, I like to try and join the rush to create offence from the back end and play good defence as well in my own end to get pucks up quickly,” said Gresh.

Swan added, “he's a guy that was maybe over shadowed last year in prep school because he played with an NHL draft pick and three division one hockey players. Jake was kind of a lower tiered guy down there so he came to our league specifically because he wanted to play in a tough defensive league and he wanted to learn that part of the game,” added Swan.

Scouts have also begun to notice the play of Gresh. They are attending games to see what he can do which now has them coming out to games. That pressure isn't something that makes him nervous

“I am kind of used to it coming out of prep school, we usually have a lot of scouts at our games. I just try to focus on the game at hand and not really worry what's outside the rink or in the stands,” added Gresh.

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