The kids are alright.
Joseph Salandra had a goal and two assists, and William Schneid scored twice in a pair of sparkling OHL debuts to lead the Barrie Colts to a season-opening 6-2 win over the Guelph Storm, Saturday night, at Sadlon Arena.
Cole Emerton pitched in with two assists, and Eamon Edgar had another, while Arvin Jaswal made 25 saves to earn his first OHL victory on what was an impressive night of firsts.
Despite missing six regulars at NHL camps, the rookie-filled Colts delivered a strong performance.
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“When they return and we get everyone back from NHL camps and get a full lineup, it’s going to be tough to find ice time for some of these guys,” said head coach Dylan Smoskowitz, who earned his first OHL win behind the bench as a head coach. “Some of these young guys, even though they’re learning the league, they’re showing us they can be difference makers in a positive way.
“They should keep doing what they’re doing, and the opportunity for them is now to showcase themselves for extra minutes on special teams or some big shifts five-on-five. I’m pretty happy with the way the young guys are playing so far.”
Veterans Brad Gardiner, Calvin Crombie, in his Colts’ debut, and Carter Lowe also scored for Barrie, which dominated the opening two periods.
As far as first impressions go in front of the hometown fans, this was a pretty impressive one for Salandra and Schneid.
“It’s good to start off that way, but we got the win and it’s kind of all that matters,” said Salandra, one of three rookie American players who shone for the Colts on the night. “We’ve been working really hard in practice every single day, so to come out and have that showing is really special for us.”
Schneid nearly completed the hat trick later in the game when he found himself alone on Guelph goaltender Zachary Jovanovski.
“It’s just taking advantage of the chances you get,” said the Camillus, N.Y. native who had a pair of goals and an assist in six preseason games. “We’re all just trying to play as a team and start to understand our identity.
“We’re looking to compete hard, and that’s what we did tonight.”
Salandra had four goals and six points in five preseason games. Along with Schneid, he’s certainly caught the eye of the coaching staff.
“It’s not that surprising because those guys have been doing it for us all through training camp and the preseason,” Smoskowitz said of his American duo. “We get to see it in practice, but for the fans and for some of the rest of the league to take notice of these guys, they’re good players. They’re really good players, and we got really fortunate with the rule change here (to NCAA eligibility) to have some more Americans come to our team.
“They’re welcome additions, that’s for sure.”
Salandra credits confidence with his good start, but more important, he says, is the opportunity he’s been given to play alongside veteran linemates Alex Assadourian and Gardiner.
“I think I have to give some credit to my teammates,” said the 17-year-old who was a third-round pick (50th overall) in this year’s OHL Priority Selection. “Gardiner and Assadourian have helped me a lot. They’ve been in the league a long time, and just the way they play the game, it’s really been helping me out.
“I’ve learned a lot from them.”
Perhaps just as impressive was Barrie’s defensive play through the night. Approaching the midway point of the game, Guelph found itself trailing 3-0 and being outshot 26-1.
“That’s what we focus on a ton,” Smoskowitz said of the team’s defensive play. “We do work on some offensive stuff, and goal scoring like this, but the meat of our practices, the meat of our video sections, works around defensive play.
“The fact that midway through the game, we were holding them to a low number of shots, we were pretty proud of that. I don’t like how we waivered away from that a little bit in the third period, but we were pretty happy with our overall team defence tonight.”
Second-overall draft pick Jaako Wycisk and Hunter McKenzie scored for the Storm, who were coming off a 5-2 win over the Erie Otters at home on Friday night.
Guelph actually had a chance to get back in this one when Wycisk cut the lead to 3-1 nearing the midway point of the second followed by back-to-back power-play opportunities, but Jaswal held them at bay, and Barrie responded with goals by Salandra, Lowe - on the power play - and Schneid a little more than three minutes apart to give itself breathing room.
“I thought Jaswal really composed himself and hung in there,” Smoskowitz said of the lack of action through the opening two periods that can be tough on a goalie. “I thought our team did a great job as well.
“We don’t want to be taking too many penalties all the time, but it’s good to know when we do take a penalty, we can defend ourselves and we’ve got the guys to go over the boards and the system in place to kill them off.”
Salandra gave credit to his new coach, who was vocal throughout the night on the bench and made sure his team had the foot on the pedal all night.
“That’s what I’ve been talking with Smoskowitz,” he said. “He just constantly pushes us every single game, every single practice. That’s why our team is so special. We just continue to work shift after shift, period after period, and never take our foot off the gas.
“That’s why we were so effective in all three periods.”
Goals by Gardiner and Crombie, a little more than three minutes apart early in the opening frame, got the Colts going in this one.
“They definitely set the tone,” Smoskowitz said of the play of his veterans. “I’m a first-time head coach, and I’m very fortunate to have the leadership with our guys, and some of our leaders aren’t even back yet from NHL camps.”
Smoskowitz spent part of his junior career playing in Barrie and admits it was special to earn his first OHL win as a head coach in the city he’s grown to love.
As usual, he praised assistants Dennis Martindale, Patrick Sexton, Connor Cadaret, and David Belitski, along with the players and management, for the win.
“It feels good, but my staff and the hours they put in, the players on how they’re so attentive and buying into the team structure, and the support I get from Marty Williamson and Howie Campbell and everyone in the management group, it’s a home away from home for me, and it has been since I was 17 years old.
“I just couldn’t be prouder to be the head coach of this team.”
The Colts will have time to rest ahead of a busy next weekend. They host the Owen Sound Attack on Thursday night and the Windsor Spitfires on Saturday, before wrapping up the weekend Sunday afternoon in Owen Sound.
ICE CHIPS
Evan Passmore returned from training camp with the New York Rangers on Saturday night, showing up late in the third period. Ben Hrebik is also back from Boston Bruins camp, leaving Cole Beaudoin (Utah), Emil Hemming (Dallas), Kashawn Aitcheson (New York Islanders), and Gabriel Eliasson (Ottawa Senators) still with NHL teams. . . First-round OHL pick Alexander Sementsov is going to start the season with the Newmarket Hurricanes (OJHL), while the team is still looking for a place for Russian import forward Andrei Gudin to start the season. . . Rookie defenceman Teague Vader notched an assist for his first OHL point. . . Barrie is awaiting the return of its NHL players before naming its new captain and leadership group.
