LetsGoDU

Fast Has 3 Assists In 3 Games For Tri-Cities

By Annie Fowler, Herald staff writer

Wednesday morning, T.J. Fast was lacing up his skates in the Tri-City Americans locker room.

He was meeting his teammates for the first time and getting ready to play his first Western Hockey League game that night against the Chilliwack Bruins.

Had Fast remained at the University of Denver, where he played hockey and lacrosse for the Pioneers, he would have been getting ready for his first class of the day -- accounting.

"I wasn't into the school thing, the routine," Fast said of leaving Denver. "I felt I didn't fit into Denver's program anymore. I'm still worried about an education, but for now, I'm focusing on hockey and my goal of being a professional hockey player."

Fast, 19, a 2005 second-round draft pick (60th overall) of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, was studying business at Denver.

"I'm excited for the game," he said. "I'm used to big crowds when we'd play Colorado College or go to Wisconsin."

Fast is no stranger to the WHL being a native of Calgary, Alberta, but in his last year of bantams, he broke his wrist and separated his shoulder and was not selected in the bantam draft.

"I bounced around the league on a bunch of teams' lists, and I went to Regina's camp when I was 15," he said. "I've been on the list here for a couple of years. It was hard leaving the team and the chemistry we had in Denver, but I was ready for a new opportunity."

Fast showed in the Americans' 4-1 win over the Bruins, that it did not take him long to adjust to the pace and the physical aspect of the WHL. He saw substantial playing time, finishing his checks like a veteran and even recorded an assist in the win.

But the best part may have been that after the game, he didn't have to get back to school in the morning.

"I'm a lot more relaxed and I have more time to myself," Fast said. "I'm not stressed about something I had to have done by the end of the night."

To make room for Fast and overage defenseman Roman Teslyuk, whom the Americans picked up last week from the Kamloops Blazers, Tri-City general manager Bob Tory traded veteran defensemen Ryan Gillen to the Calgary Hitmen and Nic Knudsen to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

"It's up to the GM what moves they make, but I felt bad," Fast said. "One of the guys was packing up when I went into the locker room on Wednesday."

Postscript: In his first three games for the Americans, Fast has 3 assists and is +1. They are 2-1-0 in his first three games.