The future is now
For the Guelph Storm, the future is now.
As one disappointing season ends and the sights get set on 2010-2011, coach/general manager Jason Brooks knows there is no tomorrow for this current group of players. It is ready to peak.
“We made some moves this season with a look toward the future, and for this team the future is ‘now’, he said shortly after the season ended with a disappointing first round playoff loss to the London Knights.
For the 2010-2011 campaign, Brooks will focus on beefing up the defence and adding some experience as the team gears up for a run at the conference title.
Most of Guelph’s best players will be in their final year of junior hockey and the team will, in theory, be peaking. He said the off-season “will be an off season of what ifs and possibilities.’
“We’ve built up our resources. We wanted to have the ability to be that team this coming season,” Brooks said of the Storm’s potential to be a serious contender for the Western Conference crown.
That means the team has plenty of young, attractive players and a closet full of extra draft picks they can use to trade for proven veteran talent and to fill needs that arise during the course of the season.
It was a process that started last year when the team traded for Michael Latta.
“You look at our Class of ’91,” he said of the 1991 birth year that includes Peter Holland, Taylor Beck and Latta.
“When we made the move for Latta last season, we made that move for a reason. Building up a healthy class of kids and hopefully made a run at it.”
Upgrading the defence is already on tap.
“The biggest area will be defence, because you’re going to graduate a few guys,” Brooks said. “We know that’s an area that we’re definitley going to have to strengthen.”
Nobody, including the team’s coach and general manager, is under the illusion this year’s Guelph Storm season was a success.
Finishing seventh and winning one playoff game dictated that.
“I wouldn’t say it was a successful season. I’d be crazy to say it was a succesful season.” Brooks said the day after the season ended.
It was the tale of two seasons for the Storm. Their first half record was 13-18-2-1 for 29 points. In the second half the team went 22-11-1-0 for 45 points.
“The guys were a lot better after Christmas. We battled back and made a run for sixth spot. I was really happy with our second half,” said Holland, whose own season mirrored that of his team.
“In the second half of the season we had one of the best records in the OHL. This team’s obviously capable of great things. When everyone’s healthy and everyone’s behind the bench, things look great for this team next year.”
Teammate Taylor Beck echoed that sentiment. “That second half of the season was just a sign of things to come. I expect big things from us next season. Hopefully we make a couple of deals that will help us out.”
Down the stretch the Storm was superb, not only squeaking into the playoffs, but moving up a position to avoid the Windsor Spitfires in the first round. That didn’t matter much, as the London Knights quickly disposed of them 4-1 in the opening round of the playoffs.
“When the season got tougher; we got better; as far as the stretch drive for the playoffs, we found a way. Considering where we came from, that was exciting. Happy the way the guys battled back to get in the playoffs and at least make it interesting,” Brooks said.
What went wrong and what went right?
Injuries were partially to blame for the early season woes.
Goaltender Brandon Foote missed the entire first half of the season. Captain and front-line forward Matt Kennedy missed a good chunk of the first half with a groin injury before being traded to the Barrie Colts. Holland, Beck, Conor O’Donnell, Tyler Carroll, Latta, Tim Campbell, Cody St. Jacques, Evgeny Molotilov and David Searle all missed at least five games due to injury.
Only two players, Matt Sisca and Adam Comrie, played in all 68 regular season Storm games.
Then there were players that just didn’t pan out.
Matt Hoyle was acquired in the Adam Comrie deal to try and shore up the goaltending position. It didn’t work out, with Hoyle struggling before quitting at Christmas.
J.P. Labardo, a former second round draft pick, never developed a consistent offensive game and was shipped to Ottawa.
The team got frustrated with Ben Chiarot’s inconsistency and dealt him to Sudbury.
“I don’t know if I would have done anything different going into the season personnel-wise. You just don’t know how your team is going to jell together,” Brooks said. “I can’t look back and say I knew Matt Hoyle was going to leave.”
There were several bright spots.
When Sam Lofquist was lured out of the University of Minnesota prior to Christmas, he shored up the defence and improved the team’s power play. Lofquist should be a top-two defenceman as an overager next year.
“Any time you get a kid like Taylor Beck scoring 93 points, it’s a bright spot, “Brooks added. “Then there were the second halves of Holland and Latta, where they got something like 53 points in 24 games.”
Brooks also points to the acquisition of Comrie as a positive.
“If you’re asking me about the trades I made early, I’m glad I acquired Adam Comrie. I think he turned out to be a heck of a defenceman for us. Obviously there were some growing pains, but when he found his game he was very good for us.
“Kind of the same with Sisca. He had his growing pains, but ended with 35 goals.”
Brooks hopes this year was, above all, a learning experience. “I’m expecting these guys to learn from this experience and hopefully be able to bring that next year. I’m hoping maturity allows them to see that this is what we need to do to be successful.”
As for next year’s overage situation, Brooks won’t jump to any hasty decisions. “Wait and see what happens with some guys. I don’t think we’re going to just come into camp with three. If there’s five guys come to camp, we can let it all kind of play out.
“I’m sure there’ll be some teams out there looking to acquire somebody and if the right deal came along that we felt was hard to pass up, we’d make that decision at that time.”
