Brooks in Belarus eyeing European talent
By Paul Osborne, Guelph Tribune
People are stranded all over the world because of the volcano in Iceland spewing ash into the sky and Guelph Storm coach and general manager Jason Brooks is stuck in Belarus of all places waiting for air traffic to resume again.
“My flight (yesterday) was cancelled so I’m hoping maybe today” said Brooks who is in the country to see players and player agents at the World Under 18 championships.
“It is important for us to be here,” said the coach looking forward to the Ontario Hockey League European draft this summer. “Really, seeing the players is almost secondary to all the contacts you make with agents. Often you end up talking with these same agents closer to the draft so to have looked them in the eye and to have them met you, I think is helpful.”
For the most part Guelph has always taken long shots in the draft, going more on hearsay from agents than actually seeing the players. Meanwhile, certain other teams every year come up with these great European players by “enticing” them to play for them. But that story is like the crazy uncle you lives in the basement – it doesn’t get talked about our dealt with.
Not surprisingly Brooks would not comment either way on whether or not he thought the playing field was even.
“Even if you watch these kids play and they look like great prospects, they still have to make major adjustments after moving to North America” said Brooks from Belarus. “As an organization we have to do the best we can to find players that can help us.”
The Storm’s batting average is only slightly higher than that of Lyle Overbay of the Toronto Blue Jays (or Lyle Over’pay’ as my elderly uncle calls him). Basically they have had only two impact players in Fedor Tyutin and many years ago, Herberts Vasiljevs. Jakub Koreis was another Storm import player, but he never lived up to his billing as a first round NHL pick of Phoenix. Since and before then there have been too many Vadim Guskov’s, Ola Boos’ and Arturs Ozolins’….guys who looked good until they put a hockey stick in their hands.
“Networking and coming to events like this is a work in progress” says Brooks. “It also allows me to make contacts with pro leagues for (graduating) players.”
Before the European draft however, Brooks and his scouting staff are preparing for the annual North American draft of bantam aged players. They will be the true building blocks of the future but Brooks, like every other OHL GM, would love to add a piece or two from Europe.
From the Land of Oz….Anyone who predicted the Kitchener Rangers would be up 3-0 on the Windsor Spitfires, raise your hand. I don’t think so Pinocchio! I don’t even think you’d find a player in the Rangers dressing room that would have dreamed that to be possible…The Storm’s Michael Latta signed a three-year entry level contract with the Nashville Predators last week. Taylor Beck has yet to sign apparently holding out for top dollar. The Preds have until next June to sign him.
