From the Stands
By Paul Osborne, Guelph Tribune
Sometimes it’s the spectacular play that brings us out of our seat at a sporting event but a story of perseverance and the admiration of a “never give up” attitude can make us stand up and applaud even harder.
The 2009 OHL draft has given the Guelph Storm a few of those stories. Mac Nichol and Ryan Horvat were quietly drafted in the 6th round, Patrick Watling in the 10th and Daniel Poliziani in the 15th and final round. None of the four made the team on their first or even second try. It wasn’t until this season, on their third attempt, that all four finally made their first OHL roster out of training camp. Not only did they make the team, in many games they have played substantial minutes.
Horvat and Watling have played up and down the line-up and have turned into hardworking, reliable forwards that the coach can trust in any situation. But it was a long road to get here, often peppered with self-doubt.
“There were times when I thought maybe I should try something else,” admitted Horvat reflecting back to the fall of 2010 after getting cut for the second straight year. “But every summer I got up and thought I want this so I need to work harder and work smarter.” And that effort finally paid off this fall.
“He is a coaches dream,” said Storm VP and GM Mike Kelly. “He has character, is absolutely no maintenance and probably has more ability that what any of us thought and I mean that as a compliment.”
“He just never complains” said coach Scott Walker. “Ryan has played on the first line some nights and the fourth line others, and you always get a great effort.”
Horvat and Watling are both meat and potato players – feet always moving, pouring in on the forecheck looking to create turnovers in the offensive zone. They play a simple, but effective game that has raised expectations for next year and beyond.
Defencemen Poliziani and Nichol have done a bit of everything. They’ve played in the top six defencemen, but they’ve also taken some shifts as forwards. Whatever is asked of them, they happily comply.
“It was that dream of becoming a professional hockey player and signing the autograph’s that kept me going” said Poliziani after a solid weekend that saw the Storm down Niagara 3-1, Owen Sound 3-2 before losing 5-3 to a well rested and talented Kitchener squad 5-3 on Sunday. “With the Storm rebuilding it has given all of us an opportunity to earn our ice time. The coaches have been rolling four lines which is great because if you make a mistake on your first shift they show confidence in you and boost your spirits by putting you right back out there.”
Four players, told twice each that they weren’t good enough, and all four beat the odds and finally cracked the line-up. None of them will likely bring you out of your seat with an end-to-end rush, but they have all earned the respect of their teammates, coaches and fans for their never-say-die attitude.
From the Land of Oz…..Former Storm player Peter Holland was at the game Sunday, enjoying his AHL all-star break. He plays for the Syracuse Crunch where he is teammates with another former Stormer, Matt Kennedy…Storm goaltender Garret Sparks had been named first star in three straight games before Sunday’s loss to Kitchener. He was brilliant in the wins Friday and Saturday against Niagara and the Attack…Rookie 16-year-old Jason Dickinson is beginning to really assert himself. Since he started playing on a line with Hunter Garlent, 16, and Scott Kosmachuk, 17, four games ago he has amassed two goals and five assists.
