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Windsor’s Konnor Smith is able to proceed enjoying the underdog function with the Peterborough Petes because the staff rolls into the Memorial Cup.
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An 18-year-old defenceman, Smith helped the Petes finish a 17-year Ontario Hockey League title drought as Peterborough took out the London Knights in six video games for the membership’s first league title since 2006.
Now, the Petes are the OHL champions on the Memorial Cup, which will get underway on Friday with the Quebec Ramparts dealing with the host Kamloops Blazers. Peterborough’s first sport within the four-team occasion is Saturday in opposition to the Seattle Thunderbirds at 6 p.m. (TSN).
“It’s a distinct ballgame, finally,” the six-foot-six, 209-pound Smith stated. “It’s the highest staff in every league and the host staff is just not unhealthy both, however they’re simply guys our age and completely different groups. We’re going to play our sport, a bodily type, and never change a factor.”
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And why would the membership? After a 74-point season, the Petes turned the staff with the fewest factors to win a title because the league went to a 68-game schedule in 1998-99. The fourth seed within the Japanese Convention, Peterborough bettered the Ottawa 67’s, who took the title in 2000-01 after registering 80 factors in 68 video games.
“It’s not too frequent, however we have been all assured in ourselves,” stated Smith, who’s a Windsor Jr. Spitfires Zone AAA product. “We didn’t suppose we have been a fourth seed. We thought we may very well be higher and have been at all times assured that we may compete and have been assured in our eyes.”
All through the season, the Petes have been considered one of a handful of OHL groups including to the roster with eyes on a title run. It began in the summertime with Vancouver Canucks’ prospect Connor Lockhart coming over from Erie. New York Rangers’ first-round choose Brennan Othmann was added from Flint. On the deadline, Avery Hayes and Dallas Stars’ prospect Gavin White, who helped Hamilton beat the Windsor Spitfires within the 2022 OHL ultimate, have been introduced in together with Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Owen Beck from Mississauga and Cam Gauvreau from Saginaw.
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Regardless of the strikes, the Petes staggered to the end line with a 14-15-1-0 file after the Jan. 10 commerce deadline.
“If you herald a whole lot of guys, it could actually throw off the staff momentum and it’s important to get used to guys,” Smith stated. “We had a whole lot of ups and downs, however I feel that helped us.
We didn’t do in addition to we thought or anticipated, however ultimately found out what we needed to do.”
The brand new Peterborough roster now had loads of gamers with success at completely different ranges and success enjoying in numerous roles, however by the playoffs the staff appeared to have figured it out.
“We weren’t enjoying for ourselves,” stated Smith, who was a ninth-round choose by the Petes in 2020. “Everybody placing their very own private targets apart for the staff.”
The membership swept fifth-seeded Sudbury apart within the first spherical after which took out the top-seeded 67’s, who boasted the perfect file in OHL this season, in six video games. Within the Japanese Convention ultimate, the Petes needed to rally from a 3-2 sequence deficit and received Recreation 7 on the street.
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That put the Petes up in opposition to the Knights within the ultimate, which was a rematch of the 2006 ultimate that Peterborough received in 4 video games.
Peterborough handed London its solely loss at residence in Recreation 2 and didn’t drop a sport at residence to safe the title, which eradicated Belle River defenceman Logan Mailloux and Belle River goalie Brett Brochu, who missed the sequence with an ankle damage.
“Me and Mailloux, we’re two large boys and we tried to get in one another’s head,” Smith stated. “Within the handshake line (after Recreation 6), we had slightly dialog. Logan had fairly just a few sort phrases for me and informed me to deliver the Cup again to Windsor and Essex County.”
Together with chasing a Memorial Cup, Smith can be eligible for the NHL Draft for the primary time this yr. He’s ranked 94th amongst North American skaters, however his inventory has little question gone up throughout Peterborough’s playoff run the place his bodily play has been on show.
“Within the playoffs, my sport’s come a good distance,” Smith stated. “I feel my sport’s constructed for playoffs, gritty type and enjoying in playoffs, particularly a whole lot of video games, offers me a whole lot of confidence.
“They stated, the additional it goes the higher for me. I’ve labored as laborious as can and do no matter I can to get drafted and finally have a profession.”
jpparker@postmedia.com
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