Savard vs. Savard on undercard of Soo-Spits battle
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
Marc Savard is more than just Tyler Savard’s father.
“He’s been my best friend,” said the feisty Soo Greyhounds winger. “Growing up, he was always pushing me to get better. He may have been too hard on me at times, but that’s only made me a better man.”
Marc has over 800 NHL games under his belt, posting a 97-point season in 2006-2007 with the Atlanta Thrashers, and a 96-point campaign one year later as a member of the Boston Bruins. He shone as a member of the Ontario Hockey League’s Oshawa Generals in the mid-1990s, leading the club in scoring three times and the league in point production twice.
In 2016, his jersey number, 27, was retired by the franchise.
“He’s definitely a great guy to look up to,” Tyler added. “It’ll be nice to see him again.”
But when that happens this weekend – Marc is the first-year head coach of the Windsor Spitfires – the love between a son and father, and the familial ties they share will take a back seat.
“More important than seeing him, I want us to hopefully get all four points this weekend,” said Tyler, whose club plays host to the Spitfires on Saturday (7:07 p.m.) and Sunday (2:07 p.m.) at GFL Memorial Gardens. “Both of these will be really good, high-intensity games.”
Originally scheduled for back-to-back night games on Friday and Saturday, the Ontario Hockey League announced a scheduling change for the Soo and Windsor on Thursday.
The Greyhounds (18-10-2-0) hold top spot in the OHL’s West Division, six points up on both the Spits (14-9-2-2) and Flint Firebirds (15-10-0-2) heading into Friday action. However, both Windsor and Flint have three games in hand on the Soo.
As an OHL rookie, Tyler Savard has impressed, posting a 5-7-12 stat line in just 18 games, along with a plus-minus of plus-2. The 18-year-old (2003 birth year) Peterborough native, an 11th-round draft choice in 2019, has also provided the Hounds with a good dose of physicality.
“I’d like to put up some numbers against his team,” Tyler said of his first matchup against his father. “We kind of have a little rivalry going, so I might stare him down going by his bench.”
“That would be funny,” Marc Savard responded, speaking from Windsor on Thursday. “I never chirp a player in the league, but if he did that, I might have some words for him.”
The elder Savard also spoke of how competitive he and his son are, beginning on the golf course.
“I hope he has some good games against us, but we get the points. That would be the best scenario,” Marc said. “He’s my son and I’m very proud of him, but he’s on the other team right now and we’re both fighting for first place. We’re going to do everything we can to get two or four points this weekend.”
Tyler was sidelined with a lower-body injury the first two times the clubs met this season. Skating at the WFCU Centre, the Soo secured a 4-3 victory on Nov. 13, before losing 4-3 in overtime on Dec. 16.
Asked for details on the most-important lesson his father has taught him, Tyler spoke of perseverance.
“People always said he was too small. He told them he was going to make the NHL, no matter what,” Tyler answered. “He’s always told me to put my head down and go to work. Don’t worry about what anyone says.”
Now 44, Marc Savard played in the NHL as a five-foot-10, 190-pounder. Tyler stands six-foot-two and weighs in at 178.
“Oh yeah, 100 per cent,” Tyler said as he talked of his determination to also make it to the NHL one day.
Meantime, the Hounds welcome back veteran defenceman Ryan O’Rourke, who’s expected to suit up for both games this weekend. O’Rourke had some “bumps and bruises,” according to head coach John Dean, after leaving Team Canada when the World Junior Championship was cancelled.
Dean also said overage winger Cole MacKay, who suffered a lower-body injury on Dec. 17 in Kitchener, was “day-to-day” and could return to the lineup this weekend. Rookie winger Jordan D’Intino remains in COVID-19 protocol.
Windsor was busy wheeling and dealing on Wednesday, completing three trades. The result has the Spits adding overage defenceman Andrew Perrott (from Owen Sound), winger Josh Currie (from North Bay) and backup goalie Matt Onuska (from London), while parting with OA rearguard Grayson Ladd and winger Kyle McDonald.
“Windsor is an excellent hockey club,” said Dean, who spoke of how the Spits “have been on an absolute tear the past 8-10 games. I expect our guys to be very excited and I expect their guys to be very excited.”
Windsor is 6-2-2-0 over its last 10 games.
The Greyhounds coach also talked of how he wants the Sault “to be a hard place for any team to come into. We want a reputation that no matter who comes here, they’ll have to fight for every inch.”
The Hounds are 10-3-0-0 at home this season.
Asked about keys to the outcome of the two-game series, Savard noted how strong the Hounds have been on the power play, converting 30.9 per cent of their opportunities.
“Our power play has been running really well lately,” the Windsor coach added. “Special teams are going to be important and we have some new additions we’re excited to see.”
