Kelly Jacobson/The Reminder Bombers forward Greyson Reitmeier works his way past two Red Wings players during a home game.

HOUGHTON — One of the biggest issues facing the Michigan Tech Huskies hockey team heading into the 2017-18 season is who will score. The Huskies graduating class from last season’s WCHA playoff champion surprised many with the way the seniors performed, leaving a huge hole in the lineup heading into this year.

With a 53-point jump in scoring from his third full season of juniors to his fourth, incoming freshman Greyson Reitmeier might be peaking just when the Huskies could use his brand of confidence. Thanks to the large number of slots to fill in the Huskies’ top six, Reitmeier will be given every opportunity to find a home on one of the top two lines, provided his scoring touch makes the transition with him.

Reitmeier is ready for the challenge.

“Obviously, Michigan Tech has had a lot of success the last few years,” said Reitmeier. “They made it to the NCAA tournament and won the WCHA, so right away, that instantly made me interested.

“With past players who have gone there have success, I feel like I will have an opportunity also to play early on and have success with the team.”

Growing up about three hours west of Vernon, British Columbia, and two hours north of Trail in Nakusp, a town that lies on the eastern edge of Upper Arrow Lake — which looks more like a river — Reitmeier traveled four hours to play for the Kootenay Ice club in Cranbrook.

“It’s a really small town,” said Reitmeier of Nakusp. “We have lots of people, even people in B.C. who don’t know where it is. It’s really small.”

In two seasons with the Midget AAA team, he scored 10 goals and 20 points in 65 conference games.

Reitmeier also played in one game with the Nelson Leafs of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, one of the feeder leagues for the British Columbia Hockey League. The experience was beneficial for Reitmeier as he prepared for his first full season of junior hockey the following year.

Living away from home is something that Reitmeier got used to at a young age, and that proved to be helpful to him during the 2013-14 season when he played in 50 games for the Trail Smoke Eaters of the BCHL. Reitmeier played that season alongside current Husky Jake Lucchini and former Huskies recruit Jake Kauppila, who now plays for Bentley.

Reitmeier knows Lucchini pretty well, and while the Huskies junior did not directly influence him, Lucchini’s success did factor in.

“I actually played a year of midget hockey with him as well before that,” said Reitmeier. “It was a little thing to think about when I thought about players who came down [to the U.S.] and had success. It just made it appealing because it made me think I could do it as well.”

That season, Reitmeier scored just one goal and 12 points, but learned about life in BCHL was vastly different from midgets.

Looking for a new opportunity and more ice time after becoming a casualty of a coaching change in Trail, the 6-foot-3 Reitmeier joined the Melville Millionaires of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League late in the summer. In his single season with the Millionaires, he scored seven goals and 16 points in 48 games.

Reitmeier saw action in his first SJHL playoff, where he scored one goal in five playoff games.

Traded to the Flin Flon Bombers in time for the start of the 2015-16 SJHL season. Playing on the same team with Huskies center Alex Smith, Reitmeier set new career highs with 13 goals and 26 points in 58 games.

The Bombers were a strong team throughout the season and then made a deep playoff run. Reitmeier chipped in with three goals and nine points in 16 games as he started to find his scoring touch.

“It’s a great hockey place,” said Reitmeier. “It’s been a hockey town forever. There is a great coaching staff to help players move on. As soon as I was traded up there, I was excited to get there.”

Smith had a big impact on Reitmeier’s development.

“He was our top player, offensively,” said Reitmeier. “I learned a lot from him. I think it helped me take over that role the next year.”

As a 20-year-old, Reitmeier returned to the Bombers knowing that he had to step up in order to help make up for the loss of Smith, who had scored 84 points the previous year for Flin Flon. Reitmeier embraced the opportunity, exploding for 28 goals and 79 points in 58 games.

In the playoffs, Reitmeier again was a key component of a deep run for the Bombers, scoring five goals and 13 points in 16 games.

“I knew I was going to be in more of an offensive role,” said Reitmeier. “I knew I was going to be relied on heavily. As soon as I had some success at the start of the year, my linemates and I started clicking, and then my confidence just grew.”

As a bigger forward, Reitmeier likens his game to that of Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn. Benn is described by the Hockey News as having “an excellent frame, plus plenty of scoring and all-around acumen.” Considering that Benn is one of the top power forwards in the NHL, he is a smart choice for Reitmeier to look up to.

With his size and strength, as well as his familiarity with two of the Huskies’ top returning centers, Reitmeier is arriving at a great time to step in and be an effective piece of the puzzle for the Huskies, who are need of some scoring punch as they look to build off of their second trip to the NCAA tournament in the last three years and a WCHA playoff title.