Second Chance: Greyhounds Gettinger and Verbeek return for a shot at West title

For a franchise with over 45 years of storied history it’s hard to believe the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds continue to re-write the record books.

But a 54-win season in 2015 that matched the 1985 season for best all-time was surpassed in 2018 with a 55th victory that led to the club’s fourth West Division title in the span of five seasons.

The impressive stretch has brought the Hounds back to the Western Conference Championship Series where the current group hopes to climb the mountain towards their first OHL title since 1992.

Part of the current group includes veterans Tim Gettinger and Hayden Verbeek who have experience on their side as the longest tenured Greyhounds and have competed for the Wayne Gretzky Trophy once before.

“Me and Hayden have been around, that’s for sure,” Gettinger said. “This is our fourth year together. That first year for both of us in the league we had a really good team and a long playoff run. Obviously we didn’t get the result we wanted but I learned a lot from the older guys in the group.”

Gettinger, a 20-year-old from North Olmstead, Ohio, joined the Greyhounds in the third round of the 2014 OHL Priority Selection.  Named captain prior to the 2017-18 campaign, he’s played 242 games with the club and got a taste of OHL playoff intensity suiting up for five games during the 2015 run.

“Being a 16-year-old and playing in a conference final is a lot to take in right away,” says the New York Rangers prospect. “I’ve tried to take that experience and now that I’m in a different role let everyone know what I learned that first year.”

Despite their record success in 2015, the Greyhounds fell victim to Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters in six games.  The heartbreaking loss meant the end of successful OHL careers for players like captain Darnell Nurse and stars like Jared McCann, Nick Ritchie, Anthony DeAngelo, and Sergey Tolchinsky but also paved the way for youngsters like Gettinger and Verbeek to carry the torch moving forward.

“Being nominated captain of this team I just try and be the best leader I can to help us succeed,” Gettinger said. “There’s going to be lots of ups and downs during the playoffs and you can’t get too low on yourself, let fans on the road get to you, but just stick to your game.”

Verbeek, a 20-year-old from Kingston, Ont., with 250 games under his belt plus an additional 45 post-season contests, also hopes to put his past to good use in what has already proven to be a competitive West Final against the Kitchener Rangers.

“It’s the experience you really take out of it,” he said. “Anything can happen in playoffs. Connor McDavid had a really good series (in 2015) and really took a stranglehold on us. It just shows that even though we were a really good team that year we got outworked and you have to be better at this stage of the season.”

The fourth round pick in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection is well known for his hardworking style of play that helped earn him a contract with the Montreal Canadiens signing as a free agent in March.

“Game in and game out I try to work as hard as I can and push the game with my speed,” he says. “Signing a contract with Montreal was amazing but we’re all eying the process right now and getting that OHL championship would be icing on the cake.”

While the playoff experience is nothing new, the resounding support the team receives in the northern Ontario community is another constant not lost on the veteran pair.

“That first year the excitement really picked up after the trade deadline but this time its felt special around here right from the start,” said Gettinger. “Sault Ste. Marie is a great junior hockey town. Everywhere you go there’s people wishing you luck and there’s been a buzz around town that’s great to be part of.”

“It’s been amazing here,” Verbeek added. “I’ve been lucky to be on teams that have been competitive and we’ve had the pleasure of some great coaching staffs and some great teams. Everything has worked out here these last four years but we hope we can keep it going.”