Pugacious newcomer anxious to make a name with the Storm
By Tony Saxon, Guelph Mercury
Liam Stevens only saw Tyler Bertuzzi play in a Guelph Storm uniform a couple of times over the past few years so he might not get the comparisons.
At 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, Stevens is the same height and a little more solid than when Bertuzzi landed in Guelph in 2011, but the game is very similar: lots of energy, lots of physicality and some emerging skill.
“I got to see him play a little bit, but I didn’t see him play much because I was really busy with hockey,” Stevens said when asked about Bertuzzi Friday in Kitchener where he is taking part in the OHL Gold Cup.
“I’ve been compared to him a lot. I just hope I can keep up to the standards,” Stevens said.
Like Bertuzzi, those that have seen Stevens play a few times often repeat the same phrase: “The fans are going to love him.”
“I think it’s just the style I play. It brings the fans into the game, makes them feel like they’re really out there,” said Stevens when asked what the term “fan favourite” means to him.
A self-described “power forward,” Stevens compares his style to another former Storm player now in the National Hockey League.
“Probably Dustin Brown: That combination of physical and skill,” said Stevens, who said his game really took off when hitting was introduced to minor hockey at the peewee level.
“That’s when it became a big part of my game,” he said.
“I’ve always been one of the smaller kids, but I don’t think you have to be big to play physical on the ice.”
Stevens and six other of this year’s Storm draft picks are participating in the OHL Gold Cup tournament, which features roughly 160 of this year’s OHL draft picks competing on eight different teams.
