October 1, 2010
by Dave Borody
|
Overage forward Tyler
Peters of the Sarnia
Sting is one of the
feel-good stories in the
Ontario Hockey League.
Why? The reasons are
simple.
Peters is a hometown boy
who was never drafted to
the OHL. He made the
Sting roster last season
as a walk-on and scored
19 goals and 35 points
in his rookie season.
Now 20 and nicely into
his final OHL season,
Peters has taken up
right where he left off
a year ago as he
currently
leads the OHL in
scoring. Peters will be
in the lineup this
weekend when the Sting
plays a pair of home
games at the RBC Centre.
Sarnia is home to the
Owen Sound Attack Friday
night and the Belleville
Bulls Saturday. Both
games begin at 7:05 p.m.
|
Overage
forward Tyler Peters of the Sarnia
Sting is one of the feel-good
stories in the Ontario Hockey
League.
Why? The reasons are simple.
Peters is a hometown boy who was
never drafted to the OHL. He made
the Sting roster last season as a
walk-on and scored 19 goals and 35
points in his rookie season.
Now 20 and nicely into his final OHL
season, Peters has taken up right
where he left off a year ago as he
currently
leads the OHL in scoring. Peters
will be in the lineup this weekend
when the Sting plays a pair of home
games at the RBC Centre. Sarnia is
home to the Owen Sound Attack Friday
night and the Belleville Bulls
Saturday. Both games begin at 7:05
p.m.
“Tyler’s journey in his hockey
career is something that makes for
great stories,” said Sting head
coach Dave
MacQueen this week. “Fans like to
see that. He was in the right place
at the right time last year. He was
given an
opportunity and made the most of it.
We were attempting to get this
organization on the right track and
Tyler got the
chance to play a lot.”
Peters is following in the footsteps
of some other free agents for the
Sting who had productive careers.
Two former
captains Jordan Hill and Matt Martin
are a pair of names that come to
mind. The soft-spoken Peters is
taking his current success in
stride.
“It’s amazing,” Peters said this
week. “I never thought I would play
any level higher than junior B
hockey.
It’s been nice to be able to take
advantage of the chance I got to
play with the Sting.”
He added, “The OHL is a very
professional league. The league has
helped me a lot. It has definitely
helped me mature as a player.”
Every OHL team is allowed three
overagers. Defenceman Brent Sullivan
joins Peters and Kale Kerbashian on
the Sting roster.
|
“It’s great to see Tyler
take the league by storm
early this year,” said
Sullivan, when asked
about Peters.
“When he is one of our
top six forwards, he
makes a real
contribution to our
team. Tyler is a very
skilled player with
one of the hardest shots
on the team. He also has
poise as shown by the
way he can play the
point on the power play.
I like his mindset.”
Sullivan added, “When
you become an overager,
there’s only so many of
us in the league. So you
get compared with other
OA’s in the league. To
see Tyler make this team
as a free agent and
develop into a solid
player is wonderful
news. And having a local
boy is always nice to
see.”
Peters admits last
season was a struggle at
times.
“Last year was a
learning process for me.
This league is so much
different than anything
I played previous. I
learned I had to better
prepare for games, not
only in practice, but
also off the ice as far
as eating properly and
things like that. In
practice I learned you
have to work hard to get
better like shooting the
puck quicker and passing
better.” |
Peters has benefited from the fact
he found some instant chemistry on a
line with another overager, Kale
Kerbashian and the Sting’s top
European pick, Nail Yakupov of
Russia.
“Both of those guys have tons of
speed. If I can find the open spots
they will feed me the puck. One of
the neat
things is that someday Nail is going
to play in the National Hockey
League. It will be nice to look back
in a couple of
years when I see him in the NHL and
say I played with him in junior,
said Peters.”
Peters doesn’t think being a
hometown boy has added any extra
pressure.
“I don’t feel any extra pressure at
all. I think it’s awesome because
it’s great playing in front of
family and
friends all the time. My parents and
grandparents are at almost every
game. I actually feel more
comfortable knowing
they are cheering me on.”
A year ago the Sting struggled
through one of their worst seasons
in team history. But Peters says
that is all behind
the team now.
“Obviously things are a lot more
positive around the team this year.
We as players come to the rink every
game
expecting to win. There’s different
expectations this year, but there’s
also a lot more confide fence.”
Peters scored the winning goal in a
5-2 win over the Sault Ste. Marie
Greyhounds Wednesday night to
improve the team’s record to
3-1-1-0.
MacQueen says Peters rise to the OHL
is something that should not go
unnoticed.
“I don’t think anyone every doubted
Tyler’s ability. Probably he should
have been in our league three years.
But
for whatever reasons he wasn’t. It’s
only the last couple of years he
committed himself. I still believe
he can be
even better.”
MacQueen said he was disappointed
with Peters at training camp.
“He didn’t have a good camp. But
when the exhibition games began, the
message finally got through. He
elevated his
game and gave himself that
opportunity to improve. Obviously
that chemistry he formed with Kale
and Nail was key. The group seem to
be getting better as a unit with
every game.”
MacQueen added, “One thing we never
doubted about Tyler is the knack he
has around the net. He has a pro
shot and is very good from the blue
line in. He has to keep working on
the other parts of his game.”
MacQueen also knows that being an
overager on an OHL team is special.
“For him as an OA, he has to bring
it every night. You can’t have two
or three good weeks and then take a
month off.
I expect any OA to be committed
every game. In Tyler’s case, Sting
fans like to see a local product
succeed on the
ice.” Peters says he hasn’t set any
personal goals for himself this
year.
“I want to see the team do well. If
I can put some decent numbers up
that means the team is going to be
successful as well. I would love to
further my hockey career. If not I’m
currently taking some business
courses at Lambton College. It’s
something I can fall back on. But
for now I just want to help this
team win as many games as possible.”
- Defenceman Kyle Flemington is
expected to make his regular season
debut tonight for the Sting. He has
sat out the opening five games of
the regular season. Anthony Donati
will miss the next two games for
being a third man in a fight in
Sault Ste. Marie.