Corridor Cross Checks: RoughRiders’ Joel Kjellberg scoring goals, Iowa Heartlanders securing wins

CEDAR RAPIDS — The guy sitting in second place right now in goals scored by a defenseman in the United States Hockey League is surprising. Really surprising.

Joel Kjellberg of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders has six of them in 16 games. He played a full season with the club last year and didn’t have any.

Not a one.

“The number one thing I love about coaching the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders is stuff like that,” said RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson. “Guys come into the league as a first-year guy and work and learn, then go have a great summer in the weight room and nutrition wise, come back mentally tougher and physically tougher, stronger, and see that hard work pay off.

“That’s why I love doing what I do.”

Kjellberg, 19, is from Stockholm, Sweden, a right shot who worked extensively on that right shot back home over the summer in the offseason. It has improved ... obviously.

He was named USHL Defenseman of the Week two weeks ago after scoring three times in three games, including a game winner in overtime.

“Shoot the puck, basically. A lot of shooting reps back home in Sweden. Rip the puck. It makes you better,” Kjellberg said. “You work on your shot, it gets better, and that’s how you score goals. I feel like confidence is a part of that, too.”

Kjellberg’s older brother, Simon, was a defenseman who played for the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints who was a New York Rangers NHL draft pick. He spent two years at RPI before transferring to Northern Michigan.

Joel originally pledged with Northern Michigan but recently committed to Arizona State. He said watching his brother helped him decide to take the U.S. junior/college route.

Kjellberg was a draft pick of the USHL’s Tri-City Storm but didn’t make the team and was astutely picked up by the RoughRiders. He had 14 assists in 53 games last season.

“It was tough, being in a new country and everything,” Kjellberg said of being dropped by Tri-City. “But I’ve got great people around me that helped me a lot and got me here. So it worked out well.”

The RoughRiders won twice last weekend at Muskegon: 2-1 and 4-3. They went 4-0-1 on their five-game, four-city road trip, improving their season record to 8-6-1-1 and 18 standings points.

Cedar Rapids plays twice at home this weekend: Friday night against the Chicago Steel and Saturday night against the Dubuque Fighting Saints. Opening faceoff at ImOn Ice both nights is 7:05.

Iowa Heartlanders

Finally.

The Iowa Heartlanders picked up their first ECHL victory of the season last week. Their first three victories, to be precise, as they swept the Kalamazoo Wings by scores of 3-1, 2-1 and 2-1 in games last Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday nights at Xtream Arena.

Goaltender Peyton Jones was the difference, as he made 87 saves in 90 shots faced in the three games to win ECHL Goaltender of the Week honors. Iowa (3-4-2, 8 standings points) had allowed four goals or more in each of its first six games.

“It’s nice for these guys to see that the fruit of their labor so far pays off,” said Heartlanders Coach Derek Damon. “They’re playing the right way. There are times during a game when you get away from it a little bit. That’s what I’ve been trying to stress ... for us to be successful, we have to be really good on the forecheck, and we have to be strong in our own end. If we do that, we give ourselves a chance to win every game.”

All seven of Iowa’s goals last week were scored by different players, which is another positive sign. The club continues its homestand with three games this week against the Utah Grizzlies: 10:35 Wednesday morning, 6:35 Friday night and 7:05 Saturday night.

“I think we’ve played hard for good stretches of the games,” Damon said. “There are young guys on this team, and they have to learn how to win in pro hockey. You can’t be good for (just) 45 minutes.”

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