Doherty a pillar on the Frontenacs’ blueline

By Aaron Bell

Taylor Doherty has been a consistent presence on the Kingston Frontenacs blueline for the past three seasons and this year, coach Doug Gilmour rewarded him by naming the Cambridge native captain of the team.

Doherty, a second round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2009, blossomed last year with 16 goals and 44 points in 63 games and is an all-situations player on the Frontenacs blueline.

He said that being named captain of the team was an honour.

“When you’re named captain of a (junior) team, it’s like a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Doherty told TV Cogeco. “I’ve never been a captain before. I’ve been an assistant here on and off for a couple of years but to be named captain is a huge thing for me. I feel like I have the leadership skills to be the captain of this team and hopefully that will help me be a pro.”

On the ice, Gilmour uses Doherty in five-on-five, powerplay and penalty killing situations and said that the big blueliner was an obvious choice for the coaches and management as team captain.

“He’s a well rounded kid on and off the ice,” Gilmour said. “He works hard. Nothing’s come easy for him and I just want his work ethic to continue the same way.”

Gilmour welcomed all-star defenceman Erik Gudbranson back from the Florida Panthers last week. While many thought Gudbranson could make his NHL debut this season Gilmour said he was concerned in the pre-season that Doherty might get the chance to play in San Jose this year.

“We’re just lucky to get him back,” Gilmour said. “He was very close to sticking and they were a little upset about sending him back. We’re blessed that we have him back and his teammates are a little selfish that way that we got him back. He won’t be around next year.”

Doherty said that he learned a lot in his second pro camp with the Sharks this fall and has used some of those new skills to register five points – all assists – in his first seven games of the season.

“I’m going to do what they’ve told me to do,” Doherty said. “Come back here to junior and have one more year of development and work on the things they told me to. Things like foot speed, getting my shots through and foot position.”

The Frontenacs have one of the deepest blueline groups in the Eastern Conference this season. Doherty and Gudbranson are the anchors while veteran Cameron Odam also supplies some grit. Youngsters like Clark Seymour, first round pick Alex Gudbranson, Patrick Harrison and 18-year-old Czech import Michal Cajkovsky also supply consistent minutes.

The Frontenacs moved veteran defenceman Tyler Mort to the Barrie Colts earlier this week. That move illustrates the depth that the Frontenacs have on the back end.

That deep blueline group has helped the Frontenacs to a 3-3-1-0 start to the season, good for third place in the East Division.

They handed the Oshawa Generals their first loss of the season on Friday in Kingston.

“What we’re doing right now is moving the puck quickly and moving our feet,” Gudbranson said. “I think if we keep going like that we can keep putting pucks in the net. We want to make sure that we stay focused.”

The Frontenacs brought in netminder Philipp Grubauer in the offseason. Grubauer backed the Windsor Spitfires to OHL and Memorial Cup championships last spring and after starting his career just down the 401 with the Belleville Bulls, the Frontenacs knew they were bringing in a top-tier netminder.

Solid netminding and a deep group on the blueline should spell out a successful season in Kingston and Doherty said that he’s determined to lead the way.

“I’m going to be a leader on this team to show the Sharks that I can be a leader,” Doherty said. “That’s what I’m really going to focus on so that I can play on the Sharks next year hopefully.”