Hounds ‘lean on’ OA Watson
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
He’s only five-foot-10.
But Kalvyn Watson has surely been a player his Soo Greyhounds teammates look up to.
That’s been especially true – on and off the ice – in the midst of a seven-game losing skid.
“He’s meant a lot to us,” said head coach John Dean, reached as his club was travelling to Windsor on Wednesday, in preparation for Thursday’s 7:05 p.m. clash with the Spitfires. “He brings an energy level and urgency to his game that best suits the Soo Greyhounds.”
The 170-pound overage has averaged over a point-per-game this season, producing 23 goals and 27 assists in 48 games. All are career highs for the 2002 birth year winger.
“We lean on him for just about everything,” said Dean, whose club is desperate for a victory, carrying a 14-22-7-5 mark into Windsor. “There’s his scoring production, his play in critical situations, penalty-killing, power play, blocking shots and what it looks like to be a Greyhound on and off the ice. He’s done an exceptional job.”
That’s been especially true of late, Dean added.
Over his last 17 games, the Peterborough, Ont., native has notched 10 goals and 13 assists.
He scored twice and assisted on another in the Soo’s 4-3 loss to Mississauga on Sunday. Watson also has three goals and three assists over the club’s last four games.
Over a three-game stretch in late January, he was credited with 17 shots-on-goal.
“Over the course of this difficult time we’ve gone through, he’s only raised his game,” the coach continued. “He’s showing an even-higher level of desperation, showing the guys he’s all-in and committed to turning this thing on its head.”
While prefacing his comments by saying “team success is always the main thing on my mind,” Watson spoke of how he’s enjoying having individual success.
The Greyhounds fifth-round choice in the 2018 OHL draft spoke of how he’s flattered to receive credit for individual accomplishments.
“I’ve been getting lots of chances and the puck has been going in the net for me,” he added.
A season ago, Watson played in just 47 games after breaking his wrist early in the season.
Once he returned, he finished strong, notching 15 goals and 26 assists for 41 points.
He also impressed in the playoffs, contributing three goals and three assists in eight games.
Watson believes his work in the post-season, and the confidence Dean gained in him, helped set him up for the role he’s filled this season.
What’s the biggest difference in his game this year?
Watson credits an uptick in his compete level and the fact he’s hungrier for the puck and more confident when it’s on his stick.
Dean talked about the player’s consistency, attention to detail away from the puck and the fact he constantly keeps his feet moving – something Watson didn’t always do when he broke into the league in 2019.
As for being one of the team’s go-to players, Watson loves the responsibility and takes pride in it.
“As a competitor, you want the puck on your stick and to be counted on in big situations.”
Watson also loves playing alongside centre Bryce McConnell-Barker, the team’s captain and leading scorer with a 26-33-59 stat line.
“He’s always hounding the puck and always in the right spot,” Watson said of his linemate. “It’s pretty easy to find him.”
Having lost the 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Watson’s Greyhounds career, which is winding down, will consist of only three seasons.
As he spoke of being determined to help the Hounds make the playoffs, Watson also discussed how coming to the Sault has been everything he’d hoped it would be.
“I’ve been surrounded by great teammates, a great staff, an amazing organization and amazing billets (Darcy and Sharleen Roy),” he said. “There’s nothing I would have changed.”
His hope is to join a pro team once the Hounds season concludes and to get an invite over the summer to an NHL training camp. Watson also said he’s willing to start in the ECHL (formerly East Coast Hockey League) in order to get a pro career off the ground.
As for Thursday’s game in Windsor, Dean talked about the importance of puck management.
The last time the team’s met “they scored five goals directly off of turnovers by us,” Dean said, speaking of the Soo’s 7-4 loss in Windsor a week ago. “Over this losing streak we’re giving freebees to teams, and a club as good as Windsor, we can’t be spotting them goals.”
The Spitfires carry a 32-12-3-1 record into a Wednesday game in Flint.
On the injury front, Alex Kostov has joined the list of walking wounded. He’s listed as week-to-week after suffering an upper-body injury in Sunday’s loss to Mississauga. None of the team’s other injured players, including rookie centre Christopher Brown (upper body), is on this trip. Brown missed the clash with the Steelheads.
Following Thursday’s contest, the Hounds move on to Saginaw to face the Spirit in a 7:05 p.m. start on Friday.
The Spirit carry a 25-20-2-0 record into a Wednesday night home game against Erie. Saginaw also takes a 1-10 record over its last 11 games into that clash.
The Hounds have Saturday off, before returning to GFL Memorial Gardens for Sunday’s 2:07 p.m. matchup with the Sarnia Sting.
