Kearns enjoys “positive” second campaign in Brampton
Posted: Tuesday, June 20, 2000, 9:15 p.m.
BRAMPTON, Ont. – As he prepared for his second season as a member of the Brampton Battalion, Richard Kearns felt like he was “on the bubble” as they say in the sports world. He wasn’t sure he would make the team coming out of training camp and an off-season bout of mononucleosis didn’t help his cause any.
But Kearns’ hard work in training camp impressed Battalion Head Coach Stan Butler and the big native of Hampton, Ontario responded by scoring an empty net goal to seal the Troops big opening night win against the Barrie Colts. Kearns scored his second goal of the young season in Brampton’s next game, a home ice win over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Playing primarily with rookie centre Jay McClement and speedy winger Aaron Van Leusen, Kearns eventually went on to rack up 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 56 games, a huge improvement over his rookie year in Brampton when he managed only seven points (2 goals, 5 assists) in 58 games. Kearns was also a bit of an opportunist around the net last season, scoring four game-opening goals and two game winners.
“It was a pretty positive year for myself and the team,” said Kearns of his sophomore season. When asked about playing with McClement and Van Leusen, Kearns replied, “It’s a hard life playing with McClement and Van Leusen,” he laughed. “They make me look pretty good.
“There were some ups and downs at first,” he continued, “since I didn’t know whether I was going to be playing here or not or where I’d be or what would be going on. I worked through it and everybody was very supportive and things worked out for the best.”
Kearns didn’t score any points during Brampton’s playoff run against Erie but found the experience of playing in the post-season to be a memorable one.
“It was very exciting,” he said, “the fan support here at home was great. I didn’t have the most productive playoff round, it was kind of sub-par, but the atmosphere was great. Erie was a lot more experienced and in those type of games the intensity was so much higher and the adrenaline was pumping so much harder for a lot of guys but they had a lot more experience and in the end that was a big factor.”
Kearns is one of eight Battalion players ranked by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau heading into next weekend’s NHL Draft and while he is the lowest ranked Brampton player at 165, he said he is “very excited” about the possibility of being drafted into the NHL but admitted that “I don’t know what to expect. I really have no idea at all.”
With so many players on the draft list, Kearns observed that the atmosphere around the team was “very exciting. We are all working towards a common goal and to get to the next level. There are elite players on this team that are going to go higher and I’m excited for them. I’m really excited for all the guys.”
Looking ahead to next year, Kearns said that he would “definitely be trying to work harder, and being healthy doesn’t hurt. That’s one less thing to worry about and overcome so that should allow me to work a little harder. I want to come back and do the same things I did last year but be a little stronger and faster. I’d like to put the puck in the net a little more and have a bigger impact on the scoresheet.”
