Dean lauds ‘absolute specimen’ Gibson

Never shy about praising his players, John Dean spoke with adulation when a recent discussion turned to the abilities of veteran Andrew Gibson.

“In my opinion, he is by far the best defensive defenceman in the league,” said the Soo Greyhounds head coach, whose team is slated to visit Sudbury in exhibition action tonight, one week out from next Friday’s regular season opener against Saginaw (7:07 p.m. at GFL Memorial Gardens).

And while not wanting to sound too egotistical, the 19-year-old (2005 birth year) Gibson concurred.

“I would agree. Yeah, I agree,” said Gibson, a highly-talented, six-foot-four, 210-pounder. “It excites me to hear how much confidence he has in my game.”

But there’s more.

Dean went on to call the native of LaSalle, Ont., near Windsor, “an absolute specimen of an athlete. I can’t get over the work he’s put in over the summer.”

The Hounds bench boss has raved about Gibson’s conditioning, how he’s thickened his frame in order to become a more physical presence.

But what about his striking speed, something that has resembled a champion racehorse making the turn?

No problem there, said Dean.

“He’s done a fabulous job of putting muscle on his young frame and yet maintaining, for a big guy, his impressive speed,” the coach offered. “It’s almost unmatched in our league.”

It’s all part of the recipe Gibson – sooner rather than later – hopes will land him an NHL gig.

The Nashville Predators signed prospect spoke of how he feels he’s “taken my game to a whole other level and skating is one of my best attributes.”

Gibson shone a season ago, posting a team high plus-minus of plus-36. That was 14th best in the Ontario Hockey League. A standout penalty-killer, in the OHL’s coach’s poll Gibson tied for first in the Western Conference in the best shot-blocker category.

He was also named third-best defensive defenceman in the conference and, despite seeing fewer power-play minutes than he would have hoped, Gibson posted a 12-32-44 stat line, tied for 20th among league rearguards.

During the 2023-24 campaign, the majority of blueline power-play minutes went to rearguards Arttu Karki and Kirill Kudryavtsev. Known for his ability to shoot the puck, that wasn’t always easy for Gibson to accept.

“At the start of the season it was a little bit frustrating,” he began. “But I wanted to do whatever I could to help our team succeed. If that was being relied upon to kill penalties, instead of playing the power play, I was willing to take on that role and help us win a championship.”

However, that didn’t happen.

After stunning much of the league with a lofty 45-18-3-2 mark – third best in the OHL – the Hounds were eliminated in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals by the eventual Memorial Cup champion Saginaw Spirit.

Tied 1-1 after 40 minutes at Dow Event Center, the Soo’s season concluded on the short end of a 3-1 decision.

“Devastating,” is the word Gibson uses to describe it. “At the end of the game I was in shock. We had such a good year and it came to a screeching halt. At first in the dressing room there was silence. I shed a couple of tears thinking of all the memories we had and how fast it had ended right there.”

A second-round selection (42nd overall) of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Gibson found himself dealt to the Predators over the summer for a prospect and a second-round draft choice. That pick was moved by Detroit to San Jose in order to get the Sharks to take defenceman Jake Walman from the Wings, part of a salary cap dump.

While Detroit hated parting with Gibson, the Preds were anxious to acquire a youngster they coveted.

Leaving a nearby team he’d wanted to play for was “very tough at the beginning,” Gibson admitted. The Wings “are in my backyard. The trade was shocking. It came out of nowhere. But I’m very happy to be with Nashville now.”

Having lost a number of key players to graduation, the 2024-2025 Greyhounds will surely be a younger club. Gibson, working to fine-tune his puck-handling and decision-making, plans to help lead the squad.

While talking about the rearguard’s speed, Dean spoke of how Gibson often skates himself out of trouble.

But at times, that speed “takes him right back into it.”

That’s something Gibson continues trying to correct.

And as he matures, Gibson says he wants to be relied upon as much offensively as defensively.

“We’re a very young team. But we have a very good leadership group and right now we have the best goaltending tandem (Charlie Schenkel and Landon Miller) in the league,” he added. “They’ll steal us some games.”

Gibson also spoke of his “love” for the Sault and its fans.

“Playing in the Sault has been a great experience,” he said. “Nothing excites me more than playing the game I love and I can’t wait for another season to begin.”