Wranglers’ Huxley values role as scorer as much as enforcer

Adam Huxley long has been the most prolific fighter in the ECHL, but the Wranglers left wing resents being labeled an enforcer.

"Fighting is a big part of my game, but I don't want to be classified as some thug who can't play. I can play, too," Huxley said. "I like to consider myself a hard-nosed player who holds other teams accountable.

"You're not going to take liberties on my team when I'm on the ice."

In his rookie season of 2004-05, the 28-year-old Huxley set Las Vegas franchise records for penalty minutes (294) and major penalties, or fights (22).

After playing for Victoria, Stockton and Idaho the past six seasons, Huxley rejoined the Wranglers on Nov. 2, about a week after Idaho released him in an attempt to add some scoring punch. True to form, on Saturday he fought Stockton's Garet Hunt before the opening face-off of the Wranglers' 4-3 overtime win in front of 5,076 at Orleans Arena.

"He's a heart-and-soul guy. You cannot not respect how he plays," Las Vegas coach Ryan Mougenel said. "The best thing about Huxley is he can play. But it's nice having a guy who can play and fight. It was definitely an element I thought we were missing.

"Pound for pound, he's probably the best fighter I've seen."

Huxley, who was held scoreless Saturday, has two goals in four games for Las Vegas (7-4-2).

In the league that inspired the movie "Slap Shot," with the brawling Hanson brothers, Mougenel said true enforcers are a dying breed.

"The days of the one-dimensional tough guy, I feel, are kind of over," he said. "It's tough at this level, with limited roster spots, to have a guy solely out there just to fight. A lot of teams don't have a tough guy.

"If someone gets called up or hurt, that tough guy is playing a regular shift, so you need a guy who can play."

While Huxley has worked tirelessly on his game, toughness remains his calling card and it has given the Wranglers a boost.

"Everybody plays a foot taller, for sure, knowing he's out there holding everyone accountable," Mougenel said.

Huxley is friends with a few Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters and trains hard as a boxer. But on the ice, he doesn't fight without a purpose.

"There's no need just to go out and look for fights just for the sake of fighting. There are enough spots to do it," he said. "I'm a team guy. If we're down by two goals and we need a boost, I'll go out. If someone's taking liberties on our team, I'll defend our team. I pick my spots."

A native of Wainwright, Alberta, Huxley established himself as a tough guy in junior hockey, where he compiled 621 penalty minutes in four seasons.

The eighth-year pro averaged more than 200 penalty minutes, while compiling 34 goals and 89 points, in his first seven ECHL seasons. Huxley also has been promoted twice to the American Hockey League, tallying 57 penalty minutes in 18 games last season for Chicago.

"I used fighting as a tool to become a hockey player," he said. "I kind of like it at times, but sometimes it's a chore."

Huxley said he plans to become a coach when he retires and sees Mougenel as a role model. Mougenel has the utmost respect for Huxley's role.

"For a guy to go out and put his face and hands on the line for his teammates says everything about the guy," he said. "You're fighting the toughest guy in the schoolyard every single day. That's a tough way to live and make a living."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.