Corridor Cross Checks: Justin Graf of C.R. RoughRiders wants to follow in brother’s footsteps

CEDAR RAPIDS - The best game of the young NHL season, and Justin Graf didn’t get a chance to see it. It was blacked out on ESPN+, naturally.

The San Jose Sharks beat the Minnesota Wild, 6-5, in overtime Sunday night in the Twin Cities. One of the forwards in the game for the Sharks was Collin Graf.

That’s the older brother of Justin, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders first-year forward.

“He gives me someone to look up to and something to strive for every day,” Justin Graf said. “I always want to battle to be just as good as him, better than him. I want to be where he is at some day.”

The Grafs are from the Boston area. There’s a five-year age gap between them (Collin is 23, Justin is 18), so they never got an opportunity to play on the same hockey team or anything growing up, but they are close and either text or phone each other daily.

“In the back yard, the outdoor rink, shooting pucks in the basement, we’ve always been super competitive,” Justin said. “I never want to lose to him, even though he’s older. Those things get competitive. Even now, if we’re playing ping pong or something, it doesn’t have to be hockey, we’re battling.”

Justin Graf has battled to the tune of 11 points in 11 games to begin the USHL season. That’d be six goals and five assists.

He has been effective on a forward line with Braiden Scuderi and Jackson Fox. He, Scuderi and defenseman Charlie Emmons all have the same billet family in North Liberty.

“I feel like I’ve had a good start, feel like the team has had a great start,” Graf said. “We went to Pittsburgh (for the Fall Classic), had two good games, battled through some adversity against Youngstown (in the second game) and then carried it on ... We have a really deep roster this year. It’s unreal, we can play all four lines and hammer down games.”

“Justin’s had a real nice start, but I think he’s mature enough to know that it’s just a start,” said RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson. “Just because you’ve had a good start doesn’t mean you’ll have a good season. But when he’s at his best, he’s really competing, a second and third-effort type of guy. He can score, he can make plays, can see the ice. If he continues to work, he’s got a bright future.”

Graf will play college hockey at Merrimack. It’s uncertain if that will be next season or the season after that.

The RoughRiders split a pair of road games this past weekend, winning at Omaha (4-1) and losing at Sioux Falls (4-2). C.R.’s six goals were scored by six different players.

The Riders play Friday night at Madison and then host the Capitols the following night at 7:05. Cedar Rapids is 7-3-0-1 for 15 standings points, good for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, five points behind first-place Dubuque.

Iowa Heartlanders

The Heartlanders picked up three of a possible four ECHL standings points this past weekend with a win and overtime loss at Kalamazoo. They play three home games this week at Xtream Arena against the Fort Wayne Komets: 7 p.m. Wednesday, 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday.

Iowa won this past Friday night’s game over the Wings, 5-1, thanks to a pair of goals each from Jaxon Nelson and Max Patterson. Keltie Jeri-Leon had the other goal, all in support of winning goaltender Riley Mercer, who made 23 saves.

Kalamazoo rallied for Saturday afternoon’s 5-4 victory. A goal from Keltie-Leon with 2:58 left in regulation and a Nelson goal with 1:47 left put Iowa on top, 4-3, but Ryan Cox scored with 13 seconds to go, then Andre Ghantous scored 1:51 into OT.

The Heartlanders are 3-1-1 for seven points in the early going, good for first place in the Central Division, though every other team in the division has two games in hand. Nelson and Keltie-Leon lead the ECHL with five goals apiece, while Nelson has a league-leading 10 points, one more than Keltie-Leon.

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