Despite spending four seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the 6', 195-pound forward never received the playing time he felt he deserved.

 "Which was frustrating, but also taught me that you have to work for the things you get, that things aren't always handed to you," said the Maritime Junior Hockey League's leading scorer.

 "Overcoming the frustration didn't really come until this year, from the start of this year it has been nice to be able to get rid of that frustration and just play hockey and truly enjoy it again."

 After three seasons in Saint John, the Porters Lake native spent 2009-10 with the Halifax Mooseheads.

 "Halifax was a good experience and it was fun to play there. Even though I wasn't utilized as much as I would have liked to have been, it was still a great opportunity. Not many people have gotten the chance to play for their hometown major junior team and I was one of the few who lucked out."

 However, after scoring just six points in 50 games, he was released prior to the 2010 draft.

 "I already had assumed that I wasn't going to be in their plans for this year so it wasn't too big of a shock to be released off of their protected list, but it was easy to use that as motivation coming into this year, where I hoped that I would get an opportunity to make an impact as a 20 year old and had something to prove."

 A prospective med school student studying at Saint Mary's University, he's much more confident and comfortable playing in Bridgewater this season.

 "Growing up I always worked hard at trying to play a more offensive style and I think I showed that in midget and even in spurts in the Q. This year I have been fortunate [that] the coaches have put faith in me to give me the ice time and ... to be able to play a more offensive-minded game."

 Through a six-game stretch in December and January, Mr. Stoddard scored 20 points to give him a 10-game scoring streak and a league-best 70 points overall.

 "He's a very, very committed individual, probably our hardest worker on ice and off ice," said coach Jim Bottomley.

 "He's constantly working to improve his game."

 Mr. Bottomley said his star forward is almost unselfish to a fault, leading the league in assists despite having an outstanding shot.

 "But he's also strong in the defensive end - often one of the first guys back - and he can play in traffic. He's the complete package."

 Meanwhile, the assistant captain said he was happy with the moves his club made prior to the trading deadline.

 "It's pretty safe to say that the players are all very excited for the remaining regular-season games as well as the playoffs, and we feel we will compete with any team in the league and hopefully have a long push in the playoffs."

 If that happens, the avid X-Box player joked that fans should not expect to see a great playoff beard.

 "I'll probably have the worst [one] on our team this year, even though I'm 20 playing with 17 year olds, which I'm sure I'll hear a lot about."