MY JOURNEY WITH THE 2013-14 OSHAWA GENERALS
In May of 2013, I stayed at a friend's house in downtown Toronto, to wake up the next day and go to the General Motors Centre for the first time and take in the Oshawa Generals Rookie Camp.
The reason? To view Jeremy Brodeur who was drafted by the Gens and give a scouting report. Why Jeremy Brodeur? Well, anyone who knows me, knows that I am a BIG Devils fan, especially of his dad, Martin.
I walked around the GM Centre and saw a man with a cape and a wig and thought, look at that nut. I think we all know who I speak of, you've all seen him. I also met Channel 12's Dan Malta, a former schoolmate, who showed me around.
Dan would point out a young player attending Rookie Camp by the name of Michael Dal Colle, you may have heard of him. I had not at the time, but when I saw him, I was very impressed. I believe he scored a hat trick on Brodeur with ease with that absolutely lethal shot.
I will, by my own admission, admit my own ignorance and say that I knew nothing of the Ontario Hockey League, save for the names of the teams and graduates of teams, but tell me to name one current player for each team, and I would be completely lost.
As I waited downstairs for Brodeur to leave the dressing room to grab an interview for this blog, I ran into Mitchell Vande Sompel. I had heard of Mitchell from my hockey instructor at Total Package Hockey, a man by the name of Dwayne Blais.
I introduced myself to Mitchell, told him I was also from London and also a student of TPH and we had a brief but decent conversation and I wished him the best, he would be on his way and Jeremy came out, and I conducted a quick interview.
Following the Brodeur interview, I went home, excited, because I got to interview a dead ringer for Marty, while it wasn't Marty which would be an absolute dream, this was pretty darn good. I did not give the GM Centre or the OHL a second thought.
A CONVERSATION THAT WOULD CHANGE EVERYTHING
In July of 2013, I got a message from one of my best friends and former and current roommate, Mike Dickson who alerted me to the fact that his former boss Peter Whitaker needed "crew" for OHL broadcasts this season.
Now I will admit, I have no idea what "crew" meant, I figured it may be something such as produce back at the station, carry equipment, something of that sort. So I fired off a resume to Peter.
He would end up calling me, and to my surprise, identified the job as either play-by-play or color commentating for the Oshawa Generals, I mean, WOW, what are the odds? I excitedly sent off my resume and a demo tape of my work with the St. Thomas Stars in 2011-12 and he said he would be in touch.
A week would go by, and I started to get antsy, finally, the phone rings and my caller ID says Peter Whitaker. I excitedly answer my phone, yet with jitters, because I didn't know what to expect.
I answer and make the small talk, and then finally, it's down to business. Pete says he liked my demo tape and he would be interested in hiring me on as the play-by-play announcer.
My God, what a turn of events, there I was, two months ago in Oshawa, as a fan of the Devils, there to interview the son of a legend, and now, I'm hired on as the commentator of the team who's building I had visited.
In early September, I stay at my uncle's house in Guelph because the next day I want to go to Niagara and see the Generals play in the pre-season and familiarize myself with the team. I wait in the parking lot of the Jack for the team to arrive and get my first taste of the friendly staff in the OHL arenas. A security guard points me in the direction of where the Generals would come in from and I wait.
Finally, the team arrives, and they unload all their things and get ready for a pre-season game while the weather outside was anything but hockey weather.
I introduce myself to GM Jeff Twohey, D.J. Smith, Roger Hunt and Paul McFarland, and I ask if I can do an interview with one of the players for our first pre-season broadcast. They say sure, go ahead and I head towards the locker room.
From my previous broadcasting experience, the liaison between myself and the players were the trainers. So I head over to Bryan Boyes and I ask him if I could talk to one. Bryan, not knowing me says "I don't know you" and continues on his work.
I stand there for a moment, but take no offense, he's busy and he has a lot of work to do. Finally, they have a little bit of free time and I go over a list of people I could interview. I start with Justice Dundas, and they say he's away. So I ask for Cole Cassels, nope not there. Scott Laughton? Try again. Finally, I land on Colin Suellentrop and they say he's right behind you.
So, I introduce myself to Colin and, remember what I said earlier, I couldn't name you one player from any team or know anything about them. I ask Colin if he's a first year player or a second year, not knowing his veteran status with the team. Colin, rightfully, was annoyed, he should have been, I messed up and I take full responsibility for that.
I reset, regain my composure and do a brief spot with Colin, before moving on and getting to talk to Al Jensen of the Central Scouting Bureau and GM Twohey. I go home, excited, a night well done.
The next day, my life was turned upside down. In late August, my mom was given a cancer scare, but the doctor's found it benign. However, additional tests found that it was in fact, malignant. You forget about the game of hockey and anything else when a loved one is given a diagnosis like that.
Thankfully, it was in it's infancy, so, only radiation would be required, which was somewhat of a relief. But, the game of hockey can be an outlet, and thank goodness I had the Generals, because I needed them.
The Generals would have a home schedule in the pre-season that would take them to Whitby, Ajax and then Pickering. I do the game in Whitby and start to learn some of the players while Cassels, Laughton, Josh Brown and others were at training camp. I did my first game against the Niagara Ice Dogs that the Generals would win. My color commentator for the evening, was Ryan Maguire. It went pretty well, Generals won, it felt good.
The next game in Ajax, we were informed that they didn't have the proper set up for us to broadcast, so we didn't do it. The next game after that, would be in Pickering, the last of the pre-season and this time I'm joined by Anthony Nicholson and the Gens are playing the Kingston Frontenacs.
Again, Pickering did not have the right set up and we couldn't get our equipment set up for the broadcast, drawing the ire of the Generals, because Rocco Tullo, the owner wanted to hear a broadcast.
Sitting in the booth next to us, was Fronts broadcaster, Jim Gilchrist. Gilly, as I know him now, had a good laugh and told me not to worry, it happens. That was great for me, it settled me down.
So, Anthony and I end up improvising and flipped the receiver upside down and used that as a microphone to broadcast the game. I guess Rocco didn't hate it, because the regular season would be next, starting on the 19th of September.
Fate, God, the Heavens, whatever you believe in, smiled upon me, knowing the turmoil at home and gave us a schedule in which the Generals played back to back to start the year in Windsor and Sarnia, both easily driveable from Strathroy where my parent's house is.
This way I could stay at home with my mom as she underwent radiation, the luck is definitely on my side. The only other road games in that time were in London and Guelph while every thing else was in Oshawa, all allowing me to drive to the games and stay at home, or at a friends, but never gone for too long.
In those first two games of the season, the Generals stole away two victories from the home team, both winning goals coming off the stick of Hunter Smith, who was looking for a bounce back year this season. His line with Dal Colle and the newly acquired Josh Sterk started very hot and got the Gens two W's.
Before the home opener against Kitchener, there is fan fest outside the GMC, and I go back to Suellentrop and apologize for my gaffe in Niagara, he's a veteran, he deserves respect and I wanted to make sure that he knew I had it for him. Colin, the stand up guy that he is, says don't worry about it and it's buried in the past.
I also take the opportunity to talk to Dundas who's games i used to call in St. Thomas when he played for the Sarnia Legionnaires. I always remembered him because really, who can forget a name like Justice Dundas? Finally, I interview Josh Sterk who immediately gets to play his former team after a trade at the end of training camp.
The Generals would lose that game, after dropping the previous game against Guelph at the Sleeman Centre. The season was rather uneven, starting 2-2, but that would be the closest the .500 they'd be for the rest of the year.
Listen, there's a lot of great players in this lineup and usually one player doesn't make the biggest difference, but, this is a special case. On October 3rd, 2013, the Generals receive the great news that Scott Laughton has been loaned back by the Philadelphia Flyers because they would rather have played Jay Rosehill and Kris Newbury.
Their loss, was the Generals gain, and no one, but the fine folks of Peterborough would complain. Many expected the Generals would have waited to make him Captain, but they didn't know what Philadelphia's intentions were and gave the C to Josh Brown, a veteran of the team.
So off we go on my first trip on the team bus of the season, Laughton in tow. I had been on a team bus in St. Thomas and it wasn't the best, I didn't like the atmosphere, but here, on the Generals bus, a whole new story.
The Generals didn't have any sort of division within the roster between the rookies and the vets like some teams do. And that was a great thing, as there were six rookies (Jimi Kuronen, Matt Hore, Jacob Busch, Joe Manchurek, Mitchell Vande Sompel, and Sam Harding) in the lineup that night alone. With three more as healthy scratches (Stephen Desrocher, Aidan Wallace, Owen McDade)
Before the game started, I was around the locker room area and there was a player stretching against the wall. At this point I'm still not familiar with players so I ask someone is that Josh Brown? And they said "I think so"
So I said, congratulations on the Captaincy, Josh and the player turns around and says "I'm not Josh Brown" whoops! For privacy sake, lets say that player's name was J. Busch. No wait, that's too obvious, lets go with Jacob B.
I don't think he cared because he was drawing in to his first game of the year and out came Adam Lloyd, who, after a few more healthy scratches would decide to go back to Jr. B at home.
And good on Jacob, because he made the most of that opportunity and would hardly be a scratch again all season. That's what you want to see out of any player, is that kind of tenacity, in which the player makes it tough on the coaches.
The Generals would surrender a 1-0 lead to a rowdy crowd at the Peterborough Memorial Centre. But, Scott had something to say about that, he wasn't going to let that team lose and would record two goals, and two assists in a 7-1 beating of the Petes. My initiation into the Peterborough-Oshawa rivalry was now complete.
That would start a run of five straight wins including defeating the eventual regular season champion Guelph Storm with ease, 4-1 at the GMC.
On Thanksgiving the Gens would finally lose for the first time with Laughton in the lineup, the first time he was held pointless since he returned, but they would get a point in a 2-1 loss to Saginaw.
No matter, Oshawa wouldn't let that faze them as they entered the belly of the beast, the home of the Memorial Cup hosts, Budweiser Gardens for a duel with the mighty London Knights, a prohibitive league favorite. Laughton would make his mark again, netting a hat trick in a 5-3 victory.
Oshawa would pick up another win against Sault Ste. Marie, before falling to Mississauga and ending a streak in which they recorded a point in eight straight games. The two losses in that time, both games, Scott didn't record a point, cementing his status as the engine on the Generals locomotive.
This would be the story of the Generals for pretty much the whole season, but, things were looking good for Oshawa. They were winning, the league was being taken by storm and they were having a good time. Unfortunately, the good vibes would be railroaded by a terrible, terrible, unimaginable tragedy.
THE WORST LOSS OF THE SEASON
There have been many losses in the Generals season this year, some not so bad, some pretty bad, and of course the elimination loss against North Bay. But those pale in comparison as to what came next.
On Sunday November 3rd, I came to the rink anticipating another exciting clash against the Petes and as I come in, I'm greeted by Andrew Edwards, the Game Day Operations manager of the Gens who informs me of a change in itinerary and that after game against Ottawa on the 5th of November, we'd be staying overnight.
I wasn't expecting that, and I was puzzled as to why, so I asked Andrew, who informed me that Will Petschenig's father Dan, had passed away. What a kick in the junk that was to hear that. A young man, who loses his father at a young age, that just isn't right.
I hadn't been with the team that long, but in the time that I was, Will was one of the first on the team to say hello to me without provocation. That is the sign of a well raised young man, and the man who had a hand in that was no longer with us. I didn't know what to say. What could you say?
To Will's credit, he played in that Peterborough game, the Generals won 5-3 and Will would go onto Ottawa right away while we'd follow two days later. Again, Will was in the lineup at the Canadian Tire Centre and the Generals came away with a 7-1 victory thanks to Cole Cassels' four goal game.
That night, we go to bed and the next day, it's up and off to the Roman Catholic Church where Dan Petschenig would be laid to rest. As we arrive, there at the doors to greet us is Will.
Here I am, a new member of this team, feeling awkward in a tough situation where I've just joined them, and everyone else is like family because of the length of time they've been together and Will greets me as if I was a always part of that family. At that moment, I was and I have to say, it is thanks to Will Petschenig who made me feel welcome and at ease in a period of complete grief.
At the funeral, I sat next to Michael Dal Colle, who I suppose had been raised as a Roman Catholic and just followed his lead, and I suppose that may be where I formed a pretty solid relationship with Michael. We listened to the clergyman, and then it was time for Will and his sister and brother to speak.
I couldn't believe the strength exhibited by those kids. Mr. Petschenig left behind an amazing legacy in his children, what a fantastic family. I can't say enough about them. But that, I feel would lay the foundation for the rest of the season.
FINDING STRENGTH THROUGH LOSS
If you follow any of the Gens on Twitter, you'll notice the term "brothers" come up a lot in their tweets and, sometimes that's just cliche, but not so with this team. What I saw at the funeral and beyond was that these were indeed brothers.
Through the loss of Mr. Petschenig these teammates bonded something fierce, and I believe through that bond will forever be friends, no matter where their respective lives take one another.
In that time, they would lose Vande Sompel and backup goaltender Ken Appleby to injuries and those losses would build opportunities for other players, most notably, Stephen Desrocher.
Desrocher would dress against Barrie for the second time in the year, but in that contest, he was planted on the bench exclusively and didn't move from his spot. Not one shift. I felt terrible for him.
I think a player should at least get out there once and make some hay, or get to show what he's made of, because practices don't tell you the whole story of what a player can do in a game situation.
But, to Stephen's credit, he never sulked, and he got out there when his number was finally called against Sault Ste Marie. And in his limited minutes out there I took notice of all the things that Stephen was capable of, including his shot, which will serve him well in his entire career.
I remember telling Shane Hollinshead of Rogers TV and everyone at the arena that he is Oshawa's best kept secret and if I were an NHL scout, I would steal him in the later rounds of the NHL draft because if he's passed over this year, he'll go a lot higher next year with added development.
He didn't really have an opportunity to showcase what he could do in the first two months of the year because his ice time was limited to maybe three minutes a game, but every minute was a good one in my eyes. The first two months of the season were a rousing success, rookies were developing nicely, all getting their first goals of the year, the vets were helping them, the Generals were a well oiled machine.
Going into December, the Generals would build a lead in the Eastern Conference by as many 14 points in the standings. So much for the nonsense by the predictors that this Generals team would struggle to make the playoffs or miss them at all.
It is inevitable that a team will suffer from a bit of a losing streak or struggle through the year. For Oshawa it would be the month of December. Following a 5-2 victory on December 10th against the Ottawa 67's, their third win in as many games, the Generals would lose their heart and soul to Team Canada for the World Junior Championships.
The Generals would also lose Vande Sompel and Harding to Team Ontario's u17 team in Nova Scotia, so Oshawa would be without their two best face off centremen and their powerplay quarterback defenseman. And it would show as the Generals ended up losing four in a row and drop six of eight without Laughton, Vande Sompel and Harding in the lineup.
By the time they returned, their next game was the first game after the trade deadline and the overage deadline and Laughton would lose good friend, and long time Oshawa General Brian Hughes in a numbers game, due to Ontario Hockey League rules that allow only three OA players on a team. After adding Dylan Smoskowitz from Mississauga for goal scoring and Alex Lepkowski from Barrie's unprotected list to shore up the defense there was no more room for Hughes.
That first game back, new teammates, the loss of old ones, the Gens looked discombobulated and gave up the first four goals to Kingston at the K-Rock centre. The Generals would storm back and tie the game at four, before allowing five straight and dropping a 9-4 decision, their most lopsided loss to date, and their only lopsided loss all year.
The next game would be against the Sudbury Wolves and after dropping seven of nine games, the gap that was once 14 points going into a trip to Sudbury (incidentally, the same trip in which I proclaimed Dal Colle the best dressed on the team, which he loved and made sure his teammates knew about it every chance he could), was down to one, the winner of the game gets first place in the Eastern Conference.
Oshawa would win that game 2-1 and after that, Oshawa would rattle off four more wins and in the 14 games thereafter the Generals would win a total of nine games and accumulate 19 points.
On Friday February 21st, the Generals would head to the K-Rock Centre to start the last three games in three nights of the season. The Gens would have two contests against Kingston, sandwiched by a game in Belleville against the Bulls.
The games against Kingston would be a part of a stretch of three games against the Fronts in six contests. Win all three against the Frontenacs and the division was theirs for the taking.
In the first game, the Generals would jump out to a 2-0 lead thanks to Cassels and Laughton and deflate the K-Rock Centre. But, that lead wouldn't hold up as Kingston would tie it in the third off the stick of Darcy Greenaway and the Rock was given new life, which would last a grand total of two minutes and 27 seconds before Joe Manchurek would pot his sixth of the year to give the Gens a 3-2 lead. Daniel Altshuller would shut the door the rest of the way, and Oshawa was a third of the way there.
Two night's later the Fronts would come to Oshawa and get destroyed by a score of 7-2. The Generals would win four of five contests heading into Sunday March 2nd's contest against Kingston back at home.
A Generals win clinches the division title for Oshawa and the Eastern Conference title, or so we thought, until some confusion made it sound like it needed to be a regulation victory.
So Oshawa would try and do just that, jumping out to a 2-0 lead yet again on the strength of markers by Sam Harding and Michael Dal Colle. Kingston, not about to give up easily, would storm back and score two goals of their own, including Lawson Crouse's third period marker which would push the game to overtime.
OT would solve absolutely nothing and it was on the shoulders of Daniel Altshuller to come up big once more as he had all season for the Generals including a stretch where he started 17 in a row with Ken Appleby injured.
The Generals would lead off the shootout giving Laughton the opening shot, but he was unable to score. Kingston would counter with Spencer Watson who was also unable to light the lamp. The next four shooters on either side would also miss, and then in round five, Cole Cassels would score for Oshawa, putting the pressure on Kingston to score. Corey Pawley, the former London Knight would be the shooter, but, Altshuller, strong as always, made the stop and that was it. Celebration.
The Generals had no idea however, and neither did I, up in the pressbox that the win, even in a SO meant that for the first time in 23 years, the Oshawa Generals were Eastern Conference Champions. After being informed of such in the locker room, a celebration would touch off.
Knowing that the division was wrapped up, the Generals would rest their players the rest of the way and drop four of their last five contests. But they had done it, a team that no one thought much of, were on top. Maybe it's something to do with London Ontario born players being Captain in Oshawa. Last time the Generals did it, Londoner Eric Lindros wore the C and now, it was Josh Brown.
Oshawa would start the 2014 playoffs with home ice advantage throughout the playoffs, and in would come the Mississauga Steelheads. Everyone expected the Generals to take the series in four straight games, and after game one, that expectation never wavered. Oshawa would rout the Trout 6-0 in a laugher.
However, after game one, no one was laughing. Spencer Martin, the outstanding goalie of the Steelheads put up three straight solid efforts and each game would go to OT. Fortunately for Oshawa, they were able to pull out a victory in each game, with Hunter Smith sending the Generals to round two.
After a week off, the Generals learn their opponent would be Peterborough and the excitement was through the roof.
At end of game two however, Scott Laughton’s ill-advised butt end would result in a three game suspension and people would be forgiven if they thought Oshawa would struggle a bit without Laughton as they were 4-9-1 without him all year.
That wouldn’t be the case though as two hard fought wins in Peterborough gave the Generals a second straight sweep with Daniel Altshuller only allowing three goals in four contests. Maybe the sweep though, wasn’t the best for Oshawa.
Game one, Laughton is still in the pressbox and sees his teammates drop a 1-0 decision thanks to Nick Paul’s goal with five minutes left in the third and the Generals outshot 51-24 in the game. Game two would be no better, and down 2-0 going to North Bay would be too tough for Oshawa.
After another disappointing loss in game three, the Generals were down 3-0 and you could see it in D.J. Smith’s press conference that there was a look in the coaches eyes as if he looked lost for answers. But the team in Oshawa is a feisty group and came out with a spirited effort, with Kenny Appleby in net for Daniel Altshuller who was good enough to back up, but I would bet there was something there injury wise even if no one would admit it. And it looked like maybe they had a fighting chance to stay alive, erasing a deficit twice on the back of Appleby’s great game. But unfortunately, Jamie Lewis had other ideas and a blast just inside the blue line found it’s way in, and game over. The Battalion would jump over the boards, the crowd roaring and celebrate in front of a dejected Generals team, and their radio broadcaster, sitting in the pressbox. Who knew that a team that was 8-4 in the playoffs, could be eliminated.
After the game, I didn’t have any heart to go to the press conference, I wanted to go down and see the kids who I had seen grown throughout the year and the vets who I would never see again. So I ran down and as each and every player left, I said my goodbyes, because over the course of 68 regular season games and 12 playoff contests, this team was not just a team that I covered, it was a part of me.
Unprovoked, Michael Dal Colle gave me a hug on his way out, even though I could see the hurt in his eyes, which hurt me, because there was a kid I came to respect and admire and felt like one of my own family members. One by one, out they came and a hug for Petsch, tear in his eyes, but thanking me for everything this season, even though, I should be thanking him. A hug for Vande Sompel who had just lost a loved one of his own and one for Stephen Desrocher, who I took pride in seeing develop the way I knew he could.
After the loss, you feel so many emotions and it’s hard to process, but, after a day of letting it process, you’re able to look back and really appreciate the year for what it was.
Now that the season is over, 2014-15 has already begun, and the Generals foundation for that season is going to be solid.
Dal Colle will be drafted in the top five of this draft, and whichever team gets him is going to have a fan in me, because I am a fan of him, but he will be back. Cole Cassels will be the leader of the squad up the middle and be given more responsibility. Hunter Smith, Josh Sterk, Justice Dundas and Bradley Latour will be the seasoned vets up front for the team.
Sam Harding, who I have said time and time again is the best two-way forward in the OHL at the ripe age of 16 will be a year advanced and better suited to handle the bigger forwards while bringing his deft faceoff touch. Jacob Busch, Joe Manchurek, Aidan Wallace will also be a part of the future moving forward, so there will be a lot of returnees who will be fresh off of a final four appearance.
On defense, that is where it should really be tantalizing for the Generals. Will Petschenig will more than likely be the leader on the back end in his third junior season. Stephen Desrocher, who couldn’t get a minute of ice time in his first game suited up, made it impossible to be taken out of the lineup for the playoffs, will be counted on for a whole lot more. Mitchell Vande Sompel, like Harding and Desrocher will also be better equipped knowing what to expect. Chris Carlisle, despite being a scratch in game four, will be back and that’s your top four on defense. Stephen Templeton, who played a couple of games for the Generals at the end of the year, I can bet will be a regular defenseman in the lineup next year. He has good speed, and a quick first pass out of the zone and is a very smart player in his own zone in the limited viewing I had. Josh Brown may or may not be back for an overage season, but if I was a betting man, I’d bet against it.
In goal, almost no chance Daniel Altshuller is back in Oshawa, almost guaranteed to be in Charlotte with the Checkers, a part of the Carolina Hurricanes farm system. So, expect Kenny Appleby, who started slowly this year, but ended with an extremely strong finish to be the go to guy in between the pipes. Even though Shawn Mabely was the back up when Appleby was hurt this year, I would figure Jeremy Brodeur will be the backup goaltender now that he has graduated at Shattuck’s St. Mary’s.
In terms of prospects, the Generals only had a first and fourth round pick to start the draft and took offensively gifted Cliff Pu with the 16th pick in the OHL draft. The last player picked 16th by Oshawa? Cole Cassels. Of course you can never tell how a player is going to develop, look at Desrocher, I bet no one thought he’d be a huge part of the team so soon, but he earned it and I’m sure there will be another one like that next year.
PROJECTED GENERALS LINEUP:
When I came to Oshawa, I had no idea who anyone was, and now, I will never forget any of them again. To Scott Laughton, Daniel Altshuller, Josh Brown, Colin Suellentrop, Dylan Smoskowitz and Alex Lepkowski, I wish them the absolute best in their future careers, wherever it may take them. And though I’m a Devils fan, and Laughton is a part of the Philadelphia Flyers organization, and I’m sure he’s going to be a thorn in Jersey’s side all his career, I’ll still be a fan.
This team, despite the disappointing finish, did so many things right, they will never be forgotten in Oshawa, nor should they be. I have no contract for next year, but I hope to be back, and if I’m not, well then, I thank the Generals organization, especially Gary Minacs, their players, trainers, arena workers,fans, staff, volunteers, billets, and other media members for everything and helping me grow, not only as a broadcaster but also as a person.
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