SPOKANE, Wash. — Luke Toporowski is not the only one in his family that played for the Spokane Chiefs.
His dad, Kerry, did too in 1991 when the team won the Memorial Cup.
“He’s just been a big part of my hockey life and him playing in Spokane it’s a huge thing," Luke said. "When I got drafted here I was so excited. So hopefully making a Memorial Cup tun with these guys will be exciting.”
His dad was an enforcing type player. To put it into perspective, he had the most penalty minutes in a season in Chiefs history.
Luke, a projected late round NHL draft prospect, is a little more about finesse. While many might be more familiar with his dad, Luke is trying to build his own identity.
“I just want to be a guy that’s known for playing hard every game no matter what game it is" Luke said. "Play hard on the puck, be hard on the floor check, be a guy that’s hard to play against."
Spokane Chiefs head coach Dan Lambert agreed.
“When people talk about Luke Toporowski they should know exactly what that player looks like, and he needs to continue to work on that," Lambert said.
Luke has scored four goals in four games, all in the WHL playoffs. He says he's playing with confidence and winning the Memorial Cup is priority number one.
He wants to lead this team to where his dad once did, but in his own kind of way.