As youngest player in the SPHL, Storm's Louis-Jean values playing time (2024)

Despite being the youngest player in the SPHL, Darick Louis-Jean is showing maturity beyond his years.

After spending much of his first professional season being shuttled between the SPHL and primarily a bench spot in the ECHL, Louis-Jean— who turned 21 on Dec. 7 — decided the best thing for his future was to spend the rest of the season with the Quad City Storm, foregoing any future call-ups and helping the Storm prepare for their first playoff appearance in franchise history.

"We have a pretty good team and a pretty good chance to win a championship," Louis-Jean said. "We have a good chemistry, great group, that's why I want to stay here. I feel comfortable and I can play a lot too.

"It's about winning."

After three seasons of junior hockey, Louis-Jean started his rookie season in the ECHL with the Trois-Rivières Lions, an expansion team roughly 90 miles from Louis-Jean's hometown of Montreal.

However, despite spending nearly three months with the team, he only played in 11 out of 24 games. He played a stretch of six straight games in December, but after Dec. 17 didn't see the ice again and was released on Jan. 15.

"Not playing was tough but what helped me calm down was that I'm young, I've still got time," he said. "I was just learning from the older guys and picking up tricks. So me not playing wasn't something that really bothered me."

The Storm were excited at the opportunity to add the 6-foot-1 defenseman and hemade a quick impression on the coaching staff, catching a red-eye to Chicago and driving to reach the Quad-Cities in time to play against the Peoria Rivermen on Jan. 28.

"The video we pulled up on him, we loved him and we figured this would be a huge addition to our lineup, especially on the back end as we're strengthening up for playoffs," head coach Dave Pszenyczny said. "He's a big physical presence, he can move the puck. He's only going to get better.

"He's coachable and I think that's really huge in today's game and for being so young."

Louis-Jean played in only two games for the Storm before the Iowa Heartlanders signed him to an ECHL contract on Feb. 5.

Once again, despite spending a month in Coralville, Louis-Jean played in three games out of 10, including sitting out six straight before returning to the Storm.

That kind of usage can make it difficult for any player to improve, especially someone in his first pro season.

"For a young kid to get better, he needs playing time," Pszenyczny said.

"You can only do so much in practice to get better, but when you get out on the ice and you're competing against different teams and different systems, your reactions need to be quicker and better, and not only that, playing more gives you more confidence to bring out the best in yourself. When you're not playing and you get thrown in the lineup, and if you've been healthy scratched, you mess up one time, you're sitting there and you're conscious about it and now you can't play to your full potential."

With only 15 games under his belt in his first year as a pro, Louis-Jean realized his best chance at extended playing time was with the Storm. When Trois-Rivières extended another call-up opportunity following the Storm's March 5 home game against Evansville— Louis-Jean's first game back from Iowa — he declined to report.

"After I played that game, I loved it, we won, loved the atmosphere and I looked at the coaches and said I want to stay here," Louis-Jean said.

Now, Louis-Jean is finally able to settle into a groove. He's played in six straight games— his longest stretch since December— and has three assists in that span. In eight games with the Storm, he's tallied four assists and is playing even hockey in the plus/minus column.

"Here I can grow my game, grow my craft. My goal is not the ECHL, it's to go even higher than the ECHL," he said. "I felt like I can get better and get more ice time here. This league is a good league, it's not a bad league and I think in the ECHL, if I did something bad, I'd sit on the bench. Here, they let me play, I see myself getting better here and next year I know I can go up even higher."

Pszenyczny thinks that goal is definitely within reach after this season. He's seen significant growth, even in the limited time Louis-Jean has spent with the team.

"I don't see him being in our league next year," Pszenyczny said. "(His ceiling) is only what he wants it to be. He might need some luck here and there, and he might need to know some people ... but he's committed and he's willing to do whatever he wants even if the odds are stacked against him and we know in our lives, those are the scariest people."

To contrast his youth, Louis-Jean has been paired with Cody Walsh and Dillon Fournier— Walsh, a five-year SPHL veteran and Fournier a former NHL draft pick who has spent time in the AHL and ECHL. They've been crucial to his growth this past month.

"Just helping me with the small details, like how to position myself, easier ways to play hockey," Louis-Jean said. "Don't make it hard on myself, so little tricks like bending my knees so I can be strong on my legs, make a small pass instead of skating it if a forward's in front of you, just ways to save energy."

With only three games played at the TaxSlayer Center, Louis-Jean hasn't had much time to make an impression on Storm fans and there aren't many more chances. The Storm's regular-season home finale is Saturday against Peoria and then there's the postseason.

After that, who knows?

"This is just a small peek of what I can do, and I can see it too," Louis-Jean said. "I see I have a bright future, all I need to do is work hard and be disciplined, and just go for it."