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Alum Mokhtari on fast track with Victoria Grizzlies

By Mario Annicchiarico, 09/17/15, 12:30PM PDT

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Mokhtari opens season on Grizzlies top line

Keyvan Mokhtari realizes he’s getting an opportunity of a young lifetime and he plans on making the most of it.

The 17-year-old right-winger has settled onto the Victoria Grizzlies’ top line to start the year, saddling up beside centreman Brayden Gelsinger and left-winger Cole Pickup early in his B.C. Hockey League rookie season.

He was held pointless in the team’s opening 3-2 loss to Cowichan Valley in which Pickup had both goals and Gelsinger notched two assists.

“It’s pretty much give them the puck and try and get open. They make it easy to play,” said the diminutive five-foot-eight, 150-pounder who last season skated with the Burnaby Winter Club Academy and played three games as an affiliate with the Trail Smoke Eaters, collecting an assist.

“It’s obviously nerve-racking being a first-year player, but I just try to work with my linemates. They’re great players, so I just work hard at getting them the puck and get into the open areas and, hopefully, I can score some goals.”

The only child to father Kamran, of Persian descent, and Japanese mom Nami, Mokhtari had 19 goals and 17 assists with the prep school program last season and also tallied 10 goals and 10 assists in 38 games with the Vancouver Northwest Giants of the B.C. Major Midget League the year previous.

Mokhtari recorded a 95-point season (including 58 goals) in 2012-13 in Tier I bantam with North Shore.

“He’s a real skilled player and the big thing with him is he has a lot of confidence,” said Grizzlies general manager and head coach Craig Didmon, whose team is in Nanaimo on Friday and Port Alberni on Saturday. “We have a young team and when you look at Gelsinger and Pickup, we need some speed there and some skill and someone who believes he can put the puck in the net now.

“That’s the thing I find with Keyvan, he really thinks he can be an impact player now in this league and all the power to him. He’s getting a great opportunity and I thought he played a great game the other day and I hope that continues.”

Mokhtari skates extremely well, so speed is a non-factor as he makes the jump to the BCHL.

“His skill set is excellent and for a small guy, he hits heavy and hard and he reminds me of the Fitzgeralds [triplets Gerry, Leo and Myles] a little bit or even Garry Nunn, who has been out skating with us,” Didmon said of the former Grizzly who is here preparing for his ECHL season.

“He has lots of attributes,” Didmon added of the rookie. “He’s got to learn the game a little bit, but he’s full of enthusiasm and right now he’s a great addition.”

Mokhtari says the biggest change is the speed of the game, but it doesn’t come as a complete surprise to him.

“I got to play a couple of games with Trail so I had a bit of a head’s up to what it would be like,” said the Vancouver native. “I felt a little more prepared coming in. The first couple of exhibition games were still a bit of a learning process, but I’m starting to get comfortable now.”

Playing on the No. 1 unit is an early bonus for him.

“I just came in ready to work and wherever I fell in the lineup, I was going to be positive about it,” he said. “As a first-year, I wasn’t expecting to be where I am right now, but that’s how it fell into place. Hopefully, I keep up the good work and stay up there. There’s no slack now. It doesn’t get any easier because I’m up there. Hopefully, I stay up there, but I’m ready to play any position and any role.”

mannicchiarico@timescolonist.com

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