Vancouver Province article (All grown up and ready to play)

All grown up and ready to play

Surrey NHL prospect Jujhar Khaira was once a pipsqueak. Not anymore

By Jim Jamieson, The Province

June 17, 2012

Jujhar Khaira, shown with his father, Sukh, a truck driver, was too small to be drafted by the WHL in bantam but now, at age 17, he's 6-foot-3, weighs 200 pounds, and is a prospect for the June 22 NHL draft.

Photograph by: Stuart Davis - PNG , The Province

Hard work and some prodigious growth spurts have Jujhar Khaira poised to shift his hockey career into high gear.

The road went from being a smallish player who wasn't selected in the WHL bantam draft at 14 to three years later attending this month's NHL Draft Combine.

Just to put that accomplishment - and length of journey - into perspective, only the top-ranked 105 NHL Draft prospects are invited to the Combine for physical testing and interview opportunities with scouts.

Khaira, a Surrey native, was the only B.C. Hockey League player to get the invitation. He spoke with about a dozen teams, by the way, including Chicago, Montreal and Detroit, but not the Canucks.

In a season where Penticton Vees dominated the BCHL headlines with a phenomenal 42-game winning streak and a national Junior A championship, Khaira was part of one of the league's most dominant forward lines for the Prince George Spruce Kings with right winger Paul De Jersey - the BCHL scoring champ - and centre Michael Colantone.

Two years younger than his linemates, the big left winger had a breakout season, finishing 10th in league scoring (29-50-79) and was the highest-ranked BCHL skater (74th) on NHL Central Scouting's final list.

"It was great," said Khaira of the Combine.

"The treatment we got, the players we got a chance to meet. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I really enjoyed it."

Khaira, who turns 18 on Aug. 13, is expected to go somewhere in the middle of the seven-round NHL draft on June 22 in Pittsburgh.

His father, Sukh, a gravel truck owner-operator who's no stranger to hard work, says a wide stubborn streak and no hesitation to roll his sleeves up have been key ingredients in Jujhar's leap forward.

"I saw the determination in him," said Sukh. "I knew he was going to grow, so it was just a matter of being patient.

"After that, I thought once he became bigger and stronger it was in his hands. Once he sets a goal, he really goes after it."

Jujhar puts it all back on Sukh and his mom, Komal - who's a speech language pathologist with Surrey School Board.

"Growing up, doing chores and seeing my parents doing stuff around the house, they always did things to their full potential and if they didn't they always tried to do better," said Jujhar, who's graduating from Clayton Heights Secondary.

"My dad goes to work all day and then he goes to work out. I think that dedication carried on to me.

"There's always some player who's doing more than you so you want to catch up and take his job."

Two training camps ago, that's exactly what Khaira did after showing up in Prince George not knowing where his hockey career was headed.

"He came to us last year as kind of an unheralded 16-year-old," said Spruce Kings GM Mike Hawes. "In that main training camp that year we saw some things we really liked and he had a tremendous season and exceeded expectations. That was just a springboard for him as a 17 year old."

Cue the hard work and Khaira, who'd gone from 5-5 to 5-10 in the three months after being ignored in the WHL draft, put on 15 pounds and a couple of inches after training like a demon last summer to turbocharge the past season.

Khaira is now 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds - which is one of the reasons the pro scouts are so interested. His dad is 6-4, so don't think the growing is over.

Khaira, who'll attend Michigan Tech in the fall, says he wants to improve his shot release and skating this summer.

"He's a prototypical power forward, with more offensive up-side than most," said Hawes. "He's got a strong, powerful stride and also sees the ice extremely well."

Khaira trains with fellow Surrey native Kevin Sundher - who was drafted by Buffalo (75th overall) two seasons ago.

Both are members of the South Asian community - a group that's seen little representation in the NHL - but neither Khaira nor his dad get caught up in it.

"We've brought up our kids to fit in with everybody," said Sukh. " Don't treat anybody any different than you like to be treated."

Added Jujhar: "I don't think it matters at this point. No matter what your skin colour, everybody is fighting for the same spot."

jjamieson@ theprovince.com

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