PEORIA — Jacob Barber has helped the Peoria Rivermen keep chase in the SPHL race during a long stretch when the team's roster was undermanned.
Now the rest of the league's rookies are chasing him.
The 5-foot-8,165-pound center heads into weekend action tied for the scoring lead among all SPHL rookies with 23 points in 25 games. That makes him a clear-cut Rookie of the Year candidate.
The Rivermen, whose powerhouse franchise is in its fifth SPHL season, has never produced a Rookie of the Year.
In fact, center Garrett Vermeersch and goaltender Storm Phaneuf are the only two Peoria players ever even selected to the league's All-Rookie Team.
"I did not picture this kind of success when I came to camp (last October)," said Barber, 25. "I am excited for the opportunity to keep playing, to develop and get better every day. Just making the team from camp was a big thing for me, and I never saw things going this well."
Barber has a team-best 11 goals, plus 12 assists in 25 games. He carries a +5 rating, and has 2 game-winners -- including on in overtime. He is also deadly in shootouts, notching goals on 3 of 4 penalty shot attempts.
He played a season with USHL Cedar Rapids early in his amateur career, then headed to University of Wisconsin-Steven's Point.
He played the last four seasons there, where he notched 32 goals plus 49 assists in 90 career games. He led the NCAA Div.-III program to three Frozen Four appearances, and a national title in 2016.
The slick little centerman grew up in the O'Fallon/St. Charles, Mo., area, a St. Louis Blues fan, during an era when the NHL team's minor-league affiliate was in Peoria.
"My dad back in the day made a few trips to Peoria to see the Rivermen prospects play," Barber said.
Now his father, Chris, mother, Adrienne and sister, Kate are making weekend trips to Peoria to see him play.
His sister, Kate, in fact, was a star field hockey player at Indiana University, and is now a high school coach in Missouri, where she has won a state title as a player, and as a coach.
Barber, meanwhile, is hoping he can help the Rivermen get back to the SPHL Finals for a third straight season and win a championship.
"I just want to be a steady player, do the little things right every night and stick to the game plan," said Barber, who graduated with a degree in biology that may one day lead to a career in medical supply sales. "You want to earn the coach's trust, be responsible on the ice."
Ready or not, the rookie was needed as a central figure on a team that at one point had seven players on ECHL call-ups and played 10 of 13 games one or two players short of a full lineup.
Despite that, the Rivermen put together a pair of six-game win streaks and remain entrenched in second place in the league, two points off the lead.
"We have a lot of confidence in our guys, in each other," Barber said. "We trust each other and that's a big thing for a team. We have a lot of depth, and no matter what we've faced we've found a way."
Dave Eminian covers the Rivermen for the Journal Star. Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Check out his videos on Youtube.com/pjstarcom and news blasts on Twitter @icetimecleve.