Howarth Happy

I had a real good chat with Brent Howarth last week.
The former Rocket is enjoying his 20 year-old season playing in the Manitoba Junior Hockey league with the Selkirk Steelers. Howarth is putting up big numbers playing on a line with his twin brother Kyle, who played with Medicine Hat, Spokane, Everett and PA before bolting for the MJHL after being traded for a 3rd time.
Brent has 43 goals and 111 points with the Steelers this season, which is good for second in league scoring behind his bro.
It's good to see Brent is in a better mind-space right now. I don't think he ever really had fun in Kelowna, despite being a part of a run that saw him play in 2 Memorial Cups and winning a National Championship in 2004.
He was never the go-to-guy with the Rockets, and always played second fiddle behind Comeau, Spurgeon, Keller, Card.
At the time I think he wanted it that way.
His best season was last year when he put up just 12 goals, but he admitted to me in an interview http://www.okoldies.ca/ that he considered leaving the team to join his brother in Selkirk as early as last Christmas. Howarth also believed he'd be traded this season if he stuck around Kelowna, believing the 3 overage players would have been Ray, Barthel and Cumiskey.
Can you blame him?
Cumiskey obviously made the jump to the A.H.L, which would have likely meant Howarth would have stuck around for his final year of junior hockey.
But lets face it, if his heart and mind wasn't in it, why have him around the team? He would have been a detriment to the Rockets locker room, in a season where they have enough problems as is without having to deal with a 20-year-old who wants to play elsewhere.

Bottom line is I'm glad Brent is having fun this season, because that's what hockey's all about isn't it? He is considering playing in europe next season, with his brother Kyle at his side.

But for the moment Brent Howarth would like to add one more ring to his Memorial Cup ring he won in 2004. His season would be complete if he won a Royal Bank title in Prince George as a member of the Selkirk Steelers.