Foote no longer a question mark
by Tony Saxon, Guelph Mercury Whether Brandon Foote is the playoff answer for the Guelph Storm remains to be seen. But one thing is for certain, he’s no longer the question.
A year ago Foote was an unproven goaltender being thrown to the wolves in the opening-round series against the Saginaw Spirit. The more experienced Jake Fischer was hurt and Foote, with a grand total of 36 OHL games under his belt, was thrust into the spotlight.
He wasn’t terrible, but he wasn’t good enough. Foote allowed 16 goals in three losses, two of them in overtime. While at time brilliant, he had a penchant for letting in the odd softie.
Fast forward to the eve of the Storm’s opening round matchup with the London Knights, which opens Friday at the John Labatt Centre, and Foote is a different goaltender.
“A year ago I think I put too much pressure on myself,” the 18-year-old Whitby native said Thursday after practice. “This season I think we’ve been in a playoff situation for the last two months, so I’m just going to do what I always do: go out, have some fun and play my game.
“We only went four games last year and we’re hoping to go a lot more than four this year.”
Since returning from hip surgery in early January, Foote has played every Storm game, rolling up an impressive 20-8-1 record. The key for him now is to carry that confidence into the post-season.
“Going into the playoffs last year I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d never been in a playoff game in the OHL. This year I know it’s a whole new ball game,” Foote said.
He said that missing the first half with surgery actually did him a world of good mentally, making him realize how important hockey is to him and how lucky he is to have the opportunity to play at the level he does.
