Big Ben throwing his weight around
By Paul Osborne, Guelph Tribune When he gets a little angry, there is little that can stop big Guelph Storm defenceman Ben Chiarot. Finding that fire on a consistent basis is quite possibly his biggest challenge.
At 6’3” and 222lbs the Hamilton native is almost Todd Bertuzzi like in his upper body strength. Storm fans will remember Bertuzzi in his final year of junior when he would simply stick out his arm to fend off defenders that threatened to take the puck. It was like a man against boys.
On Sunday, with London Knight (and Toronto Maple Leaf draft pick) Nazem Kadri pressuring Chiarot he simply extended his arm and knocked Kadri away like he was no more than an annoying fly.
“He started the season a little slowly” said Storm coach and GM Jason Brooks, “but when he gets mad he just throws people around. When he’s really into it, he can be dominant.”
The problem, like for most young players, is consistency. Drafted by Atlanta in the 4th round of the NHL draft in June, Chiarot is hoping to become a shutdown defenceman that can be counted on in the final minutes of every period.
“I have to ingrain in myself to play physical every game like a Mike Komisarek or Luke Schenn” said the Atlanta pick. “It is tough to play the same game every night but you have to move towards that if you hope to play in the NHL. Whether it’s the Thrashers or the coaches in Guelph they are all pushing me to play physical, simple hockey.”
Chiarot currently leads the Storm with 51 minutes in penalties in 15 games and is fourth overall in the Ontario Hockey League in that department. How good can he become over his next two years in Guelph?
“Ultimately it is up to him” said Brooks. “He has the skill and strength to do it and if he wants to be a shutdown guy in the NHL, he’ll have to master it on a nightly basis.”
“I really want to be like (former Storm player and now Philadelphia Flyer) Ryan Parent and Marc Staal (of the New York Rangers)” said the third year d-man who hopes to earn a contract with the Thrashers. “They are two of the best shutdown guys I’ve seen.”
From the Land of Oz….The Storm split their games on the weekend, losing 7-5 to Barrie on Friday before beating London 4-3 in an exciting shootout that saw nine players from each team take part before it was decided by an Adam Comrie slapshot. Connor Tresham, who had only played one shift in the entire game, also scored for Guelph in the shootout. “It was one of those moves where you play a hunch and he shows a great pair of hands in practice so I asked (Tresham) ‘do you want a shot at this’ and he said “absolutely”….Storm netminder Matt Hoyle played his best game of the season stopping 8 of 9 shots in the shootout and 34 of 37 London shots during regulation and overtime. “In fairness to Matt I also thought it was the best game we’ve played in front of him defensively” said Brooks. “We didn’t hang him out to dry.” Hoyle was named the game’s first star. Taylor Beck continued his strong play with two goals and four assists on the weekend…Forwards Michael Latta and Peter Holland are both on the sidelines for awhile. Holland for possibly 10 days with a sore shoulder and Latta could be gone for several weeks with a separated shoulder. Defencemen Tim Campbell (concussion) and Evgeny Molotilov (flu) also missed the weekend games. That meant that David Searle, out all season recovering from shoulder surgery, got into the line-up.
