Storm kicks off second half with huge win
By Tony Saxon, Guelph Mercury
James McEwan was planning on attending practice with his junior B club Sunday afternoon, but that all changed in a hurry.
McEwan, 16, was one of three players who made their OHL debuts for the Guelph Storm Sunday, helping them to a 5-2 victory over the Erie Otters at a sold-out Sleeman Centre.
It was Guelph’s fourth straight win, two of which have been over the first-place Otters, now losers of three straight.
“I signed today, just before the game,” said McEwan, a ninth round draft pick last Spring who opened the eyes of Storm brass with an excellent training camp.
“My first shift was pretty awesome. The fans were screaming and it was pretty cool. Pretty awesome,” said McEwan, who had plenty of family in the stands for his debut.
“There were nerves for sure. The puck didn’t seem to be staying on my stick. It was bouncing around everywhere, but it was a lot of fun,” the Chatham native said.
The plan is to have McEwan help the team through a shorthanded stretch over the next week or so, then finish the year in junior B. The left-shooting centre has nine goals and 12 assists for the Chatham Maroons this year.
“James hasn’t even had a practice with us,” said Storm coach Scott Walker. “I was really impressed with him. He did a fine job.”
Joining McEwen on a first-timers fourth line Sunday were a pair of 18 year olds from the 2011 draft: Guelph native Ryan Migliaccio and Michael Levesque. Both have been playing junior B hockey, Migliaccio in Guelph and Levesque also in Chatham.
“I’ve got to give Michael credit too. He’s been around the organization a long time and he could have been disheartened and disenfranchised, but he came and did a fine job,” Walker said of Levesque, a former third round pick.
