When 2001-born and number-one 2016 bantam draft pick Peyton Krebs was  called up for a game against the Prince Albert Raiders on January 20th under emergency circumstances he was ready to make an immediate impact.

He had two goals and two assists, leading the Ice to a 6-3 win over the Raiders.

Krebs has a total of six points in six games played so far this year. He has reached his limit of games that he can play as a player in his 15-year-old season.

The limit is actually five but he was allowed to go over due to the large amount of injuries the team was dealing with. He could play more this year if Kootenay is still playing when Krebs’ Foothills CFR Chemical Bisons’ season in Midget AAA is over.

At that point he could go back to Cranbrook and get some more games.

It is somewhat rare that a team even plays a 15-year-old. It’s even rarer for them to make an immediate impact and put up points. What Krebs has done then is a pretty unique thing.  Where does it rank historically? Well we only have the necessary stats to run a comparison going back to the 1996-97 season but that is still 20 years worth of players to look through.

Here are the most points 15-year-olds have scored since 1996-97:

Player	Team	15 year old season	Position	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Nick Drazenovic	Prince George	02/03	Centre	15	4	4	8
Matt Needham	Kamloops	10/11	Centre	13	3	4	7
Branden Troock	Seattle	09/10	RW	9	2	4	6
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	Red Deer	08/09	Centre	5	2	4	6
Reid Duke	Lethbridge	11/12	Centre	12	2	4	6
Peyton Krebs	Kootenay	16/17	LW	6	1	5	6
Jordan Trach	Prince Albert	05/06	LW	17	2	3	5
Jarret Stoll	Edmonton	97/98	Centre	8	2	3	5
Ben Thomson	Medicine Hat	97/98	Centre	8	0	4	4
Jakob Stukel	Vancouver	12/13	LW	6	2	2	4
Shawn Belle	Tri-City	00/01	Defence	6	0	4	4
Colin Smith	Kamloops	08/09	Centre	8	0	4	4
Lance Bouma	Vanocuver	05/06	Centre	5	1	3	4
Michael Bubnick	Calgary	97/98	Centre	11	1	3	4
Jake Virtanen	Calgary	11/12	Centre	9	3	1	4

So Krebs has a decent shot at overtaking first overall on this list with just a few more points. Drazenovic is the only WHL player in the last 20 years who has put up eight points. He needed 15 games to do it. He would end up playing four more years with Prince George, putting up a total of 204 points. He was drafted by St. Louis in the sixth round in 2005 and has played a total of 12 NHL games between the Blues, Columbus and Pittsburgh.

-If it seemed like Matt Needham was with the Kamloops Blazers forever there was good reason to believe that. He played 317 regular season games for them over six seasons. His 15-year-old year was a good one as he piled up seven points over 13 games.

-Branden Troock (or “Trooooock” if you’re a Seattle fan) showed a ton of potential as he had six and 26-point seasons as a 15 and 16-year-old. He battled injuries for most of the rest of his time with the Thunderbirds but still found his way to the Dallas Stars’ AHL affiliate where he still plays.

-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got his six points in only five games for the Red Deer Rebels. He was an incredible talent from a very young age and ended up getting drafted first overall by the Edmonton Oilers. He’s already piled up 248 NHL points in 364 NHL games and he’s only 23 years old.

-Reid Duke’s Lethbridge Hurricanes finished last in their division every year he played for them until he was dealt to the Brandon Wheat Kings in 2014. He was drafted by Minnesota that same year but is now a free agent as he was left unsigned by the Wild. Duke was a big part of the team that won the WHL Championship last season. Currently he’s in his overage season and is leading his team with 55 points in 45 games.

Overreaction of the week: Krebs will lead the Ice out of the cellar of the league.

-That’s a lot of pressure to put on such a young kid. However, the skills this young man has shown definitely point to a very bright future. He was AMBHL MVP last year while with the Rocky Mountain Raiders in Bantam. This year with the Bisons he has 32 points in 24 games which leads the team. His Bisons lead the AMHL with a 22-4-3 record. This could mean they will make a long playoff run and the young star will not get many more games in Cranbrook.

There is no doubt though that he was play full time starting next season. The Ice have a strong, young core with the 2001-born Krebs and 2000-born forwards Michael King and brothers Keenan and Kaedan Taphorn. This trio, as well as, many others will need to develop alongside Krebs for this once great franchise to rebound.