So long Storm Overagers
By Tony Saxon, Guelph Mercury The Game 5 loss at London’s John Labatt Centre that marked the end of the season for the Guelph Storm carried more meaning for three of its members.
Overagers, Corey Syvret, Conor O’Donnell and Ryan Gottschalk all saw their OHL careers come to a disappointing end.
For Syvret, there was a sense of irony, ending his career on the same ice he started it after the Knights drafted him in the first round in 2005. It was also the same ice his brother Danny had starred on as a member of the Knights not too long ago.
“He got to end his career here too, but his ended a little better. He got to carry around the Memorial Cup,” said Corey Syvret, referring to the night his brother helped win the 2005 championship played in London.
The end to their junior careers was not the end of hockey careers for Syvret, O’Donnell or Gottschalk.
Syvret plans on pursuing a professional career; O’Donnell and Gottschalk both plan on continuing to play when they attend St. Mary’s University in Halifax starting in the fall. St. Mary’s captured the Canadian university hockey title this past season.
“I’ve talked to a couple of teams already,” Syvret, a former draft pick of the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers who became a free agent after not being signed by the team.
“Whether it’s the NHL, AHL or ECHL, I’m hoping to get a tryout. It might be at the end of this season or it might be at a tryout camp in the summer,” Syvret said.
“I just want to get my foot in the door and prove myself. It doesn’t matter at what level it is, I want to be a professional hockey player still.”
O’Donnell admitted it felt a little strange to see his four year OHL career come to an end. “At that last game in London, I started to get a little emotional. I didn’t think I would get emotional, but I did.”
The Hamilton native began his career in Brampton before spending a couple of years in Windsor, where he won a Memorial Cup in 2009.
“It’s tough, but the way I look at it, it’s just a stepping stone to something else. It’s a door shutting, but it’s almost like it’s opening up another door,” O’Donnell said.
“I’m prepared to move on. I had a great time in the OHL. I played with some great teammates and played for some great coaches. It’s not a sad note, it’s a high note. I’m moving on and it’s all a part of growing up.”
O’Donnell said his junior hockey career did more than make him a better hockey player.
“I not only matured as a hockey player, I matured as a person.”
