Billed as a tenacious winger with a scoring touch, it has taken him a while to find his position on the club. With several offensively skilled forwards ahead of him, he never saw much power-play time and without injuries to others, rarely saw action on the top two lines. He was caught in a spot where he wasn’t quite skilled enough to play in the top six, but so valuable to have on the third line.

But over the past month or so, and now in the first two games of the playoffs against Saginaw, McNaughton has started to emerge as the leader Storm scouts thought he could be. He has now earned his way onto the top two lines and shows no signs of giving up that spot.

In Game 2 of the series Sunday, McNaughton was a one man wrecking crew earning a Gordie Howe hat trick (a fight, a goal and an assist) and first star honours in the Storm’s 6-2 win which evened with series with Saginaw at a game apiece. (Game 3 was to take place Monday night, after Tribune deadline.) McNaughton had a fight and the first goal of the game before he broke a sweat, and was a pain all afternoon to Spirit players as he bullied and chirped his way through the contest. Listed generously at 5-foot-10, he is probably the Storm’s hardest hitter and certainly their most persistent pest.

“I love the playoffs,” said McNaughton a native of Petawawa, Ont. “The last couple of years I wasn’t able to contribute much, so this year I really wanted to step up.” And so far, he has done just that.

“(Cody) is playing on that ‘edge’ everyone talks about,” said coach Scott Walker. “That is exactly what we need him to do. I can live with it if he goes (over that edge) once in awhile. I don’t like it, but (as a former player) I understand it.” In fact, “the edge” is exactly where McNaughton has to be.

That means in one moment he can frustrate you with an over-exuberant penalty, while on the next shift he’ll draw a penalty because of his annoying presence. It is much the same game played by line mate Michael Latta.

It is the style of play that wins games in the playoffs.

The emergence of McNaughton is exactly what the club was hoping for. With 12 players on the roster eligible to graduate after this season, the Storm needs players to begin to claim important roles for next year.

McNaughton is making his statement now on a nightly basis.

From the Land of Oz . . .  Former Storm netminder Thomas McCollum was called up by the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday after starter Jimmy Howard was injured Saturday in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. If McCollum plays, it will be his first NHL game .

. . One of the problems that plagued the Storm this season was their lack of discipline. Saginaw was even worse, leading the conference in penalty minutes during the regular season and it was their inability to control their tempers that eventually cost them Game 2 of this series. While Guelph went 0- for-6 on the power play in Game 1 (losing 3-2), the Storm was 4-for-13 in Game 2.