WHL: Dustin Tokarski Interview

Spokane Chiefs goaltender Dustin Tokarski is evidence that hard work and determination pay off. A product of Watson SK, with a population of less than a 1000 people, Tokarski struggled to find a Triple A team to play on. As fortune would have it, he was lucky to get on board with the Prince Albert Minots where he succeeded in winning a Telus Midget Cup (2006) and was quickly scooped up by the Spokane Chiefs. In just his second season with the Chiefs, he established new franchise records including most shutouts, best goals-against average. and save percentage in a single season. Tokarski was sensational in the WHL playoffs including a dramatic seven game series win over the favored Tri-City Americans. Tokarski only surrendered more than one goal in just one of his four games at the Memorial Cup and was subsequently named MVP of the tournament.

McKeen's had a chance to sit down with Tokarski before the finals and talk about his draft stock and his season to date.

McKeen's: It has been a hectic and productive eight months for you, establishing franchise records and making it to the Memorial Cup along the way. Did you ever envision such success?

Tokarski: It has been an amazing ride. Our group is full of character and there is not one person here that is not responsible for being where we are today. This is a resilient group and we still keep going. The defense in front of me has been great. We have three great defenseman pairings that really complement each other's skill sets. I have been so successful because of them.

McKeen's: You really ran with the ball in the playoffs after splitting the regular season duties with Armstrong. What were some of your biggest challenges to this point? You had two difficult series against the Giants and the Americans. How did you approach them?

Tokarski: Towards the end of the season, I started to get more starts against better teams so I understood that I was being groomed for the playoffs. I mentally focused on those games and I think it helped me, as I was able to gain more and more confidence heading into the postseason. We played humble hockey in the playoffs, in which we respected our opponent but not too much. We knew what they were capable of staying and playing with any team because of the depth of our team and the fact that no one played outside our system. We just kept building on our success even when we lost game 6 in the Western final, we still carried our confidence into the room the following game against Tri-City and accomplished what we set out to do.

McKeen's: Let's talk about that Tri-City series. Do you think you raised your draft stock with your strong performance and the fact that you beat the CHL Goalie-of-the-Year, Chet Pickard?

Tokarski: I certainly hope so! You always like to challenge yourself against such competition. He is a good goalie and it really pushes you to get better. In those close games, you just have to be more mentally focused and prepare yourself off the ice too.

McKeen's: The defense in front of you can largely be accredited to your success as you have mentioned before. Jared Cowen and Jared Spurgeon have assumed playing time in all situations. Who in your estimation has stepped up and improved the most throughout the course of the season?

Tokarski: There real is no shortage of words for those two players you mentioned. Cowen is a 16-year old but plays with the poise of a 20-year old and Spurgeon is 5-foot-9 but plays like he is 6-foot-5. Ulmer is also playing well on the backend putting his puck handling skill to work and creating offence. It has been an accumulation of consistent efforts from all the guys.

McKeen's: Coming into this tournament do you have time to see video on these teams you do not get much exposure too? Your position in particular must be difficult to come into a one-game elimination and be expected to read these players and understand their tendencies.

Tokarski: We had a few meetings and saw some video on all of our competing teams. We tried to take what we could from it and observed their PP, PK and forechecking positioning in the neutral zone. In the end, it boils down to knowing we can play our game because we are that confident that it can measure up. We have stuck to the basics, continued to utilize our team speed and adopted a 'we will work harder than you' type of attitude in our game plan.

McKeen's: The final two teams are set with the host Rangers on one side and the Belleville Bulls on the other. Any preference as to who you would rather see make it through?

Tokarski: (Let's out a laugh) I am going to let the hockey Gods decide this one. They both have their fair share of snipers but all I can hope for is many, many periods of overtime to tire these guys out.