When it comes to comparing Arvin Atwal to Vancouver Canucks players, you see some Kevin Bieksa and, when the mood apparently suits him, a little of mascot costumes Fin.
Atwal, 17, has been one of those silver linings in this gloomy Vancouver Giants’ campaign.
A 6-foot, 195-pound right-handed defenceman, Atwal has the vision and booming shot to quarterback the power play for stints, and he also has the size and edgy demeanour to be a physical force in pursuit of the puck.
To boot, he’s a guy who stands up for his teammates.
He has seven fighting majors in a mere 27 games, and the majority have revolved around coming to the aid of a fellow Vancouver player.
One might argue that he’s had more daring “team-first” moments.
Specifically, last April, he filled in as Jack The Giant, pulling on the stuffed costume for a few hours at the Surrey Vaisakhi Parade.
He even busted out some of his moves from his time Bhangra dancing. He had done that for seven years before stopping to focus on hockey.
“I was like, ‘Hey, I’m a great dancer and I love kids. I could do this,’” the North Delta native recalled on Tuesday. “I did three hours, but I could have done it all day long.
“If I got asked again, I’d probably do it.”
Giants fans will undoubtedly want him to attend such events as himself.
Atwal has been playing top-four minutes with Vancouver in the past few weeks, after being promoted from the Junior B North Delta Devils in late December.
In the last 11 games, he has two goals and eight points, to go with a plus-four rating, helping last-place Vancouver to a 5-4-0-2 run in that time.
In his abbreviated season, he has three goals, 11 points and an even rating, an especially telling stat for a Vancouver team that has given up 97 more goals than it has scored on its way to a 19-46-2-0 record.
The hope had been that he would play with the Giants all season, but he had shoulder surgery in the summer and he wasn’t ready for the WHL rigours when the campaign kicked off.
He had looked to some like a throw-in for the Giants in their October 2011 trade with the Prince Albert Raiders, but Vancouver brass knew the Raiders’ 2010 eighth-round bantam pick well, since he had spent two years in the South Delta Secondary hockey academy, which is run by Giants strength and conditioning coach Ian Gallagher.
“Just being close to someone in the organization really helped,” Atwal said of joining the Giants.
The key guy for Vancouver in that trade was supposed to be a 19-year-old forward Austin Connor, but he opted to retire rather than report, and Vancouver received a 2013 fourth-round bantam pick instead.
Defenceman Tyler Hart and forward Teal Burns, both now 20, went to the Raiders in return and they’re both finishing off their eligibility in Junior A this season.
With the way Atwal is trending, it’s certainly a different-looking trade now.
“He’s confident with the puck,” Giants forward Dalton Sward, 19, said. “He tries moves that I wouldn’t try in practice.
“And, coming into the year, I didn’t see the guy as a fighter, but he’s fought some pretty tough guys and done pretty well.
“Everyone has their own way of creating energy for the team, and that’s one of his ways.”
Oddly enough, Atwal didn’t have a single bout in Junior B, where he put up five goals and 17 points in 22 games.
“I’m not trying to be a fighter,” he said. “I don’t want to be just a fighter. I want to be a complete player. I want people to know I won’t turn away when something happens.”
