Who thought this walk-on would stand so tall? -- RUICCI COLUMN
![Picture](/uploads/3/6/3/1/3631524/8835867.jpg?326)
SAULT STE. MARIE - Think of the players most important to the present and future success of the 2013-2014 Soo Greyhounds?
Of course, there's Darnell Nurse and Matt Murray, Sergey Tolchinsky, Jared McCann and Andrew Fritsch.
Alex Gudbranson and Tyler Ganly help Nurse hold down the back end, and there's also this guy who was buried in Junior A just 12 months ago.
He'd never been drafted by an Ontario Hockey League team and was cut adrift by the only Major A team he'd played for, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Gatineau Olympiques.
Up until December of last year, he was playing for the Central Canada Hockey League's Pembroke Lumber Kings for former OHLer Sheldon Keefe.
Well, by now we all know about Keefe and the outstanding job he's doing here.
But how about the contributions of Tyler Gaudet?
The overage centre is proving you can find hockey gold in a lot of different places.
On Keefe's recommendation, Gaudet was brought in a couple of weeks before last year's Christmas Break.
The price for the Hounds was a plane ticket and a ride into town from the airport.
Gaudet, then a 19-year-old, was an instant hit.
“It was pretty obvious right away that he could help us,” recalled GM Kyle Dubas.
He worked hard and was hard on the puck.
He was always on the right side of his check.
He knew what Keefe wanted in terms of systems.
And he played a puck-possession style.
On a club whose defensive game often resembled a burst pipe, Gaudet went up against the opposition's top offensive players and definitely held his own.
But let's skip ahead one season.
Now a six-foot-three, 200-pound, 20-year-old, Gaudet is no longer just a hard-working, defensive force.
He is among this team's best players – make that very best -- and a major reason why the Greyhounds are off to a 6-1-0-1 start.
Gaudet is so much more confident handling the puck and asserting himself offensively. He's a good skater, who shoots the puck a lot better than some might expect.
A year ago, he managed to grind out three goals and five assists in 34 games.
Gaudet had exactly three goals and five assists in his first seven games this time around.
But that was before scoring on a beautiful one-timer in Saturday's 5-0 victory over Windsor at Essar Centre.
He took a cross-ice feed from Patrick Watling, another OA making a sizable contribution, and bang.
Gaudet fired a shot that beat Spits goalie Jordan DeKort on the short side.
The Hamilton, Ont., native presently stands No. 3 in team scoring, ahead of everyone except McCann and Tolchinsky.
And along with his nine points, Gaudet has a plus-minus of plus-7. That's tied with Fritsch for second on the team behind McCann's plus-8.
“I've always had it in me,” Gaudet said of his offensive talent. “I always liked carrying the puck out of my own zone and now I'm taking it all the way down the ice. I didn't feel it was my place to be doing things like that last year.”
But having discovered a comfort zone this season, the overage forward figures that “as a veteran, I feel I have to do those things to help the team. I expect more out of myself this year.”
Keefe just smiles when Gaudet's name is brought up.
“He recognizes he's a big part of this team and knowing the coaches believe in him is important for him,” Keefe said.
The coach admits that at the beginning of this season, the Hounds didn't have great offensive expectations for the second-year player.
They figured Gaudet would again skate against the other team's best players. Offensive production, it seems, was considered a bonus.
But Gaudet came into training camp in great shape.
“Off the charts physically,” is the way Keefe describes his conditioning level. “He's set the bar high for the rest of the team.”
In more ways than one.
As he works on different things, Gaudet is typically one of the last Greyhounds to leave the ice following practise.
“He was a huge pickup for us,” said Fritsch, a fellow OA now in his fifth OHL season. “I haven't seen a pickup like him.”
During his days in Pembroke, Gaudet's plan was to play Junior A until he was 20, before going to university where he'd play at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) level.
You know, it's funny how fate brings people together.
If Gaudet hadn't been playing for Keefe in Pembroke, he very likely wouldn't be in the OHL today.
And he wouldn't be developing into a late-bloomer, who now appears to have professional potential.
Of course, there's Darnell Nurse and Matt Murray, Sergey Tolchinsky, Jared McCann and Andrew Fritsch.
Alex Gudbranson and Tyler Ganly help Nurse hold down the back end, and there's also this guy who was buried in Junior A just 12 months ago.
He'd never been drafted by an Ontario Hockey League team and was cut adrift by the only Major A team he'd played for, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Gatineau Olympiques.
Up until December of last year, he was playing for the Central Canada Hockey League's Pembroke Lumber Kings for former OHLer Sheldon Keefe.
Well, by now we all know about Keefe and the outstanding job he's doing here.
But how about the contributions of Tyler Gaudet?
The overage centre is proving you can find hockey gold in a lot of different places.
On Keefe's recommendation, Gaudet was brought in a couple of weeks before last year's Christmas Break.
The price for the Hounds was a plane ticket and a ride into town from the airport.
Gaudet, then a 19-year-old, was an instant hit.
“It was pretty obvious right away that he could help us,” recalled GM Kyle Dubas.
He worked hard and was hard on the puck.
He was always on the right side of his check.
He knew what Keefe wanted in terms of systems.
And he played a puck-possession style.
On a club whose defensive game often resembled a burst pipe, Gaudet went up against the opposition's top offensive players and definitely held his own.
But let's skip ahead one season.
Now a six-foot-three, 200-pound, 20-year-old, Gaudet is no longer just a hard-working, defensive force.
He is among this team's best players – make that very best -- and a major reason why the Greyhounds are off to a 6-1-0-1 start.
Gaudet is so much more confident handling the puck and asserting himself offensively. He's a good skater, who shoots the puck a lot better than some might expect.
A year ago, he managed to grind out three goals and five assists in 34 games.
Gaudet had exactly three goals and five assists in his first seven games this time around.
But that was before scoring on a beautiful one-timer in Saturday's 5-0 victory over Windsor at Essar Centre.
He took a cross-ice feed from Patrick Watling, another OA making a sizable contribution, and bang.
Gaudet fired a shot that beat Spits goalie Jordan DeKort on the short side.
The Hamilton, Ont., native presently stands No. 3 in team scoring, ahead of everyone except McCann and Tolchinsky.
And along with his nine points, Gaudet has a plus-minus of plus-7. That's tied with Fritsch for second on the team behind McCann's plus-8.
“I've always had it in me,” Gaudet said of his offensive talent. “I always liked carrying the puck out of my own zone and now I'm taking it all the way down the ice. I didn't feel it was my place to be doing things like that last year.”
But having discovered a comfort zone this season, the overage forward figures that “as a veteran, I feel I have to do those things to help the team. I expect more out of myself this year.”
Keefe just smiles when Gaudet's name is brought up.
“He recognizes he's a big part of this team and knowing the coaches believe in him is important for him,” Keefe said.
The coach admits that at the beginning of this season, the Hounds didn't have great offensive expectations for the second-year player.
They figured Gaudet would again skate against the other team's best players. Offensive production, it seems, was considered a bonus.
But Gaudet came into training camp in great shape.
“Off the charts physically,” is the way Keefe describes his conditioning level. “He's set the bar high for the rest of the team.”
In more ways than one.
As he works on different things, Gaudet is typically one of the last Greyhounds to leave the ice following practise.
“He was a huge pickup for us,” said Fritsch, a fellow OA now in his fifth OHL season. “I haven't seen a pickup like him.”
During his days in Pembroke, Gaudet's plan was to play Junior A until he was 20, before going to university where he'd play at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) level.
You know, it's funny how fate brings people together.
If Gaudet hadn't been playing for Keefe in Pembroke, he very likely wouldn't be in the OHL today.
And he wouldn't be developing into a late-bloomer, who now appears to have professional potential.
Gaudet living the dream
![Picture](/uploads/3/6/3/1/3631524/221315.jpg?369)
SAULT STE. MARIE - Tyler Gaudet never expected to play in the Ontario Hockey League, let alone in Sault Ste. Marie.
But the 19-year-old centre is making the most of his opportunity at the major junior level after first suiting up with the Soo Greyhounds Dec. 14, in an unlikely call-up from the Jr. A ranks.
Gaudet played with the Gatineau Olympiques in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League during the 2011-12 season before dropping down to the Jr. A level in January, 2012, and suiting up with the Pembroke Lumber Kings.
Soo Greyhounds new head coach Sheldon Keefe — who took over from Mike Stapleton Dec. 3 — was the owner/general manager/head coach of the Lumber Kings, and he liked what he saw in Gaudet.
The six-foot-two, 195-pounder notched four goals and 12 assists in 22 games last season with Pembroke. In 25 games this season he scored 10 goals and added 12 assists before getting a call from Keefe, and the chance to play in the OHL.
Keefe didn’t waste any time before making a move to bring Gaudet on board. He pushed to at least give the teen a chance to show what he could do with the Hounds.
“I brought his name up pretty early, really, in kind of my first days being here,” Keefe said. “I believe in him both as a player and as a person.
“He’s really taken the opportunity and shown that he belongs and he can help us. He’s made believers out of the rest of the staff.”
The Hamilton native was caught off guard when the phone rang in Pembroke and his former coach was on the other end of the line in the Sault.
“I was really surprised. It was nice to hear from him,” Gaudet said Tuesday afternoon.
“I was really excited, especially because it was kind of my second chance. I was already playing at the CHL level (with Gatineau) and (had) been dropped down.”
It’s “amazing” to get another shot in major junior, he said.
Gaudet has scored two goals and two assists with the Hounds in 10 games.
He was officially signed to the team at the trade deadline, Jan. 10.
He has played mainly on the third line between Nick Halagian and Dylan Staples and has also spent time killing penalties.
“He’s gone from (being a) call up to being a full time part of things,” Keefe said.
Gaudet has much to offer, said the new head coach. He’s a big guy that skates extremely well, plays well at both ends of the ice and is versatile.
Although he is not a naturally gifted offensive player, Keefe says he “has a very high skill level and the ability to handle the puck.”
The Hounds are 10-5 under Keefe and are undefeated in eight starts on home ice. They are currently in seventh place in the Western Conference with a 23-18-2-1 record, for 49 points.
Keefe has worked to make the Soo more of a puck possession team. He said Gaudet was already familiar with his system and he believed he would fit well into the mix.
“He’s very responsible defensively, knows his limitations offensively and focuses on the defensive aspect of things, and is a good penalty killer,” Keefe said. “There are a lot of tools that I thought he could bring here.”
Joining the Greyhounds “is huge,” Gaudet said. “It changed everything. It’s nice to get that second opportunity.”
The OHL is much different than Jr. A, he said. Not only is the pace of the game considerably faster, the depth of talent on teams is also much deeper.
“In Jr. A you have one really strong line ... (In the OHL) every single line is a strong line.”
Gaudet describes himself as a defensive forward, more of a two-way player.
Playing at higher level in the OHL forces him to push harder and challenge himself more, he said.
“When you play against guys that are really strong and guys that are being scouted and drafted into the NHL, it makes you want to be a better player.”
But the 19-year-old centre is making the most of his opportunity at the major junior level after first suiting up with the Soo Greyhounds Dec. 14, in an unlikely call-up from the Jr. A ranks.
Gaudet played with the Gatineau Olympiques in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League during the 2011-12 season before dropping down to the Jr. A level in January, 2012, and suiting up with the Pembroke Lumber Kings.
Soo Greyhounds new head coach Sheldon Keefe — who took over from Mike Stapleton Dec. 3 — was the owner/general manager/head coach of the Lumber Kings, and he liked what he saw in Gaudet.
The six-foot-two, 195-pounder notched four goals and 12 assists in 22 games last season with Pembroke. In 25 games this season he scored 10 goals and added 12 assists before getting a call from Keefe, and the chance to play in the OHL.
Keefe didn’t waste any time before making a move to bring Gaudet on board. He pushed to at least give the teen a chance to show what he could do with the Hounds.
“I brought his name up pretty early, really, in kind of my first days being here,” Keefe said. “I believe in him both as a player and as a person.
“He’s really taken the opportunity and shown that he belongs and he can help us. He’s made believers out of the rest of the staff.”
The Hamilton native was caught off guard when the phone rang in Pembroke and his former coach was on the other end of the line in the Sault.
“I was really surprised. It was nice to hear from him,” Gaudet said Tuesday afternoon.
“I was really excited, especially because it was kind of my second chance. I was already playing at the CHL level (with Gatineau) and (had) been dropped down.”
It’s “amazing” to get another shot in major junior, he said.
Gaudet has scored two goals and two assists with the Hounds in 10 games.
He was officially signed to the team at the trade deadline, Jan. 10.
He has played mainly on the third line between Nick Halagian and Dylan Staples and has also spent time killing penalties.
“He’s gone from (being a) call up to being a full time part of things,” Keefe said.
Gaudet has much to offer, said the new head coach. He’s a big guy that skates extremely well, plays well at both ends of the ice and is versatile.
Although he is not a naturally gifted offensive player, Keefe says he “has a very high skill level and the ability to handle the puck.”
The Hounds are 10-5 under Keefe and are undefeated in eight starts on home ice. They are currently in seventh place in the Western Conference with a 23-18-2-1 record, for 49 points.
Keefe has worked to make the Soo more of a puck possession team. He said Gaudet was already familiar with his system and he believed he would fit well into the mix.
“He’s very responsible defensively, knows his limitations offensively and focuses on the defensive aspect of things, and is a good penalty killer,” Keefe said. “There are a lot of tools that I thought he could bring here.”
Joining the Greyhounds “is huge,” Gaudet said. “It changed everything. It’s nice to get that second opportunity.”
The OHL is much different than Jr. A, he said. Not only is the pace of the game considerably faster, the depth of talent on teams is also much deeper.
“In Jr. A you have one really strong line ... (In the OHL) every single line is a strong line.”
Gaudet describes himself as a defensive forward, more of a two-way player.
Playing at higher level in the OHL forces him to push harder and challenge himself more, he said.
“When you play against guys that are really strong and guys that are being scouted and drafted into the NHL, it makes you want to be a better player.”