For Kings prospect Jordan Weal, one such moment arrived a few years ago while driving down the highway with his father. "He asked me a weird question," began the 19-year old center when we spoke recently by phone. "He asked me 'What would you want on your tombstone if today was your day?' I didn't really know what to say."
Weal went on to share that in retrospect, it may have been the moment his maturation process really took off. Although he's openly admitted to being a selfish player earlier in his junior hockey career, he appears to be a changed person these days.
It's something former Kings coach Terry Murray noticed as well, sharing these comments during training camp last September - "The most important thing that I saw was a player who is maturing and growing up. He’s a better teammate. He’s a really good guy now."
Even with Murray now gone from the Kings organization, Weal still values what he was told prior to being sent back to the WHL.
"When you hear something like that from a coach, it's really positive," said Weal, who feels he's made great strides as one of the leaders on the Regina Pats. "As an older guy, you have to really be a team guy - that guy who's in the dressing room getting everybody ready to go. Maybe when I was younger, I was trying to focus on getting myself prepared for the game instead. As a leader, you have to really focus on the team first. Then, you can worry about yourself after that."
