New Knight small but mighty

By RYAN PYETTE, SUN MEDIA; FREE PRESS SPORTS REPORTER
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Sure, Daniel Erlich is small.
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At a generously listed five-foot-seven (more accurately two inches shorter) and 155 pounds (and five pounds lighter), the newest London forward makes ex-Knights star Pat Kane look like a bruising behemoth.
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And yes, he’s young. At only 16, the Thornhill native makes Edmonton Oiler Sam Gagner look like a grizzled veteran.
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But Erlich has proved he is more than willing to gamble — the A student turned down a hefty financial aid package from Northeastern University to join the Knights.
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And he’s brave — he recently played in a Jewish tournament in Israel at a rink within spitting distance of barbed-wire fences marking the border with Lebanon.
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“I’m nervous, but I’m excited to be in London,” he said yesterday before his first Knights practice. “I’m looking forward to this. I struggled with it after leaving (London training camp this summer) to play junior A. It was a tough decision (the OHL or college), but this is where I wanted to be.”
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Erlich’s talent is undeniable. He scored five goals and 20 points in 21 games with the Toronto Junior Canadiens of the Ontario Provincial Junior A League this season — and that’s with limited power-play time.
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Last year, he was an offensive catalyst for a talented Toronto Marlies midget AAA team that advanced to the OHL Cup final. London goalie Michael Zador, the Knights first-rounder this summer, was on that club and believes Erlich would’ve been selected among the top picks if he didn’t scare away teams with his school ambitions.
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“Yes, we believe he has that kind of ability,” London general manager Mark Hunter said. “His size isn’t an issue.
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“I played with Theoren Fleury and I’m not trying to make a comparison between the two, but he was the same size and he excelled. I played with Mats Naslund and he wasn’t any taller but extremely skilled. We’re very excited about his (Erlich’s) potential.”
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When London assistant GM Jim McKellar first inquired about Erlich’s height, the young man replied, “I’m six-foot-two.” He realizes the only way he can take the next step is to play bigger than his body.
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“It’s been that way all along,” Erlich said. “You just have to keep your legs moving and make the plays on the ice. My season was going well (in Toronto) and I was playing with older guys there.”
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Because of the timing of his signing, Hunter is trying to protect Erlich from being seen a saviour when he takes the ice tomorrow at home against Sarnia. His arrival comes a day after the Knights were hammered 7-1 in Kitchener.
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“We still have to remember he’s a ’91 (birth year),” Hunter said. “There’s a learning process he has to go through first. He has to learn our systems. It will take some time.”
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Had Erlich decided to join the Knights from the get-go, it’s a good bet he would be playing with Michael Zador for the Ontario team that will compete in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge at the John Labatt Centre next month. He made it to the all-star squad’s final camp and felt he played well enough to crack the OHL-dominated roster.
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“In fairness, it’s not easy to see what guys are made of when they’re playing in a league other than the OHL,” Mark Hunter said. “I know when I’m scouting, it’s hard to project what a young man’s going to do at this level unless he’s playing against a similar calibre of competition.”
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Erlich will get that chance with the Knights.
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“I went to under-17 camp and realized I can play at that level,” he said. “I had a good camp. I didn’t make the team, but it doesn’t matter now.”