Kerby Rychel’s present and future could be meeting when the Windsor Spitfires visit the Guelph Storm on Friday Night Hockey.
The Spitfires forward is rumoured to be on the trade market, and a meeting between the management teams of the Storm and Spitfires prior to a game two weeks ago sent off bells and whistles throughout the league. Both teams’ head coaches downplayed the meeting as simply hockey men talking hockey, which could have some truth to it considering Guelph’s Scott Walker and Windsor’s Bob Boughner played together in Nashville for parts of two seasons.
The fact that the Storm could be buyers and the Spitfires could be sellers at the deadline, however, adds some credence to the rumours.
“Do we have interest in Kerby Rychel?” Walker asks, “I don’t think there’s a team that wouldn’t. That’s like saying teams like Steven Stamkos in the NHL… would people have interest in Connor McDavid? Of course they do. Hey, if (the Spitfires are) sellers and they’re going to be moving Kerby Rychel, everybody’s interested. Did we put ourselves in that interested mode? Yeah, but if the price is too high, we won’t be in on Kerby Rychel.”
The Spitfires are in a holding pattern, Boughner says, because the team is surging with 10 wins in their last 11 games following a slow start. They have yet to declare themselves buyers or sellers in this year’s market, which means Rychel’s future remains in limbo.
“There’s no question that everybody’s talking and it’s not just the Windsor Spitfires and Guelph or London; it’s everybody,” Boughner says. “There’s not a day that goes by that you’re not talking to a GM or somebody in management from another side.”
WHAT’S ON THE LINE?
The Storm are unquestionably in the toughest division in junior this season with the likes of the surging Erie Otters and the past three league champions in London (2012 and 2011) and Owen Sound (2010). Guelph is currently second in the Midwest Division with 37 points, two back of Erie and five head of London in what will likely be an exciting race to the finish for playoff positioning in the Western Conference.
Walker enjoys the challenge the division race poses for his team, and an inter-conference game against the Spitfires, who sit second in the West Division, but fifth overall in conference standings. Boughner likes his group, but with the trade deadline now six weeks away, time is ticking for the team to decide which direction they would like to take. This is a big weekend for the Spitfires, who could get their answer with games against contending teams in Guelph and London.
“Guelph is a good measuring stick,” Boughner confirms. “You hate to put one game or two games on the schedule as that, but they’re definitely a challenging team — especially at home in Guelph.
“The only thing that obviously we’re a little leery of is our (conference) is so good. London’s automatically in (as MasterCard Memorial Cup hosts), you’ve got the Guelphs, Eries and the way the Soo is playing, it’s a big battle to get to where you need to be.”
KEY MATCHUP
Kerby Rychel vs. Brock McGinn
Although they play two very different styles, each team’s success is weighed by the play of their stars. Rychel is a two-time 40-goal scorer who plays a power-forward style. He’s adding layers to his game this season with better defensive coverage as he evolved into a player that can play in every situation.
“The one thing that’s come full circle in Kerby’s game is his five-on-five play without the puck,” Boughner says. “I think with the ‘C’ on his shirt this year he’s really concentrated on being a three-zone player and a dependable guy.
“He’s one of my best penalty killers, he’s in every crucial situation when we’re protecting a lead and he’s worked real hard to be an all-around, two-way player.”
The speedy McGinn added an offensive flair to his game in his fourth season. The two-way forward has at least one point in each of his team’s 23 games this season, and his production will continue to be crucial to the Storm’s success.
“He’s just one of those guys, same as Kerby, every team in the league would love to have him and we’re fortunate in having him,” Walker indicates. “He works hard and he’s a very low-maintenance player.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Guelph: RW, Scott Kosmachuk
The Winnipeg Jets prospect is progressing nicely this season. His speed and tenacity are notable traits added to a burgeoning offensive game that took off this season. He’s second in team scoring with 37 points, three behind McGinn’s 40.
“He skates like a National Hockey Leaguer,” Walker says. “He’s got a National Hockey League shot and release and now he’s putting the rest of the game together and obviously he’s going to reap the rewards of moving on to the next level and so are we because he’s playing so well for us.”
Windsor: RW, Josh Ho-Sang
Known as something of a human highlight reel last season, Ho-Sang’s game is evolving now into a more dependable player. He and Boughner had a conversation at training camp that showed levels of maturity to the young scorer, who recognized his biggest strength could also be his biggest weakness. Ho-Sang recognizes there was room for improvement in playing defensively and a team game, and is finding success in a system.
“I think last year he was a one-man show and this year now he’s using his teammates and he understands that if he head-mans the puck, he’ll get it back when he jumps into the hole,” Boughner says. “That’s something that probably wasn’t part of his game last year.”
