Sidney Crosby and David Pacan Tied For First in Goals 

It’s no secret that Brampton Beast forward David Pacan has been enjoying a banner season.

The 6’3″ Ottawa native hasn’t been sneaking up on anybody of late. Not only was he named the CCM ECHL Player of the Month for February thanks to an eye-opening 11-goal, 11-assist performance in 14 games, but his 34 goals puts Pacan atop the ECHL in goal-scoring, two goals ahead of his nearest competitors, Colorado’s Matt Garbowsky, Alaska’s Peter Sivak and Florida’s Brendan O’Donnell.

What people may not be aware of is that Pacan is in a heated battle with Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby for the most goals scored in North American professional hockey this season.

To date, Pacan has lit the lamp an incredible 34 times in just 52 games played. Crosby, on the other hand, is tied with Pacan at 34 tallies, but it took the face of the NHL 58 more games to reach the same milestone.

While Pacan is quick to poke fun at himself compared to the best player in the world, he admits that scoring 34 goals in a single season wouldn’t be possible without the help of his teammates.

“I play with Brandon Marino and he’s kind of like the Chris Kunitz of the Brampton Beast,” Pacan joked.

“It’s pretty awesome when someone compares you to Sidney Crosby but all the goals have to do with the rest of the team. I wouldn’t have 34 goals if it wasn’t for the rest of my teammates.”

Pacan is in a tie with both Chris Auger and David Vallorani for the team lead with five game-winning goals, equalling Crosby’s total of five game-winners, but as Beast Head Coach Colin Chaulk suggests, Pacan may have the edge when it comes to timely scoring of big goals.

“Not only does he have an abundance of goals, the timing of his goals has been significant for this team,” Chaulk said.

“David is having a career year. He and Brandon Marino have had tremendous chemistry together. He’s been a player who has between five and eight goals scored with less than two minutes remaining and he has even scored a few where he has tied or won us the game in the dying seconds. When the team does well, individuals have success. It doesn’t work the other way around.”

This hotly-contested goal-scoring battle isn’t limited to just Pacan and Crosby. This esteemed duo is a step ahead of the competition in the NHL race alone, as both snipers are outscoring many members of the NHL elite, including Calder Trophy candidates Patrik Laine (32 goals) and Toronto Maple Leafs budding superstar Auston Matthews (31 goals), as well as perennial All Star and Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty (31 goals).

“It is truly amazing with over 100 pro hockey teams and 3,000 players in North America, that one of our Brampton Beast players David Pacan is in a dead heat with Sidney Crosby for the lead in goals,” said Beast President and General Manager Cary Kaplan.

“The NHL has ten more games than the ECHL so it will be tough for David, but if he and his linemates, the two Brandon’s, Marino and Maclean, continue to roll in the final 15 games he has a chance. It will be fun for fans to watch.”

Even the goal-scoring leaders of each of the various professional hockey leagues in North America can’t hold a candle to the numbers amassed by both Pacan and Crosby.

In the American Hockey League, Wade Megan is an exceptional centre for the Chicago Wolves and currently sits atop the AHL’s leaderboard in goals and even he has only collected 27 goals in 56 games played.

Time is running out on the 2016-17 season and it will be interesting to see who pulls away down the stretch. Crosby may have the edge, as the Penguins have 18 games remaining in their schedule, while Pacan and the Beast only have 15 games remaining to see if Pacan can pull away from the pack. Either way, we will soon have a definitive answer to the question “Who is the best goal-scorer of the 2016-17 season?”.