OHL: Doughty Takes OHL By Storm

With every sheet of ice that is cleaned it gives a hockey player a chance to shine. Today at the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre few players shine as bright as rookie blue liner Drew Doughty. In a mere three months since the season began Doughty has managed to find himself in situations most rookies, yet alone defenders, do not see.

"He doesn't play like a rookie, for the most part his decisions with the puck are excellent" adds coach and GM Dave Barr "He is still prone to a few rookie mistakes but we are liberal and patient with his errors because he can make things happen".

Drew doesn't just make things happen he spear heads attacks and launches himself out of his zone, often stickhandling around three seasoned OHL veterans in the process. He leads all Storm defenders this season in points and goals scored. In addition he is the top point producer amongst all rookie defenders in the OHL. His early success at this level has raised the eyebrows of many a scout eager to uncover the next hot young prospect.

"I am a little surprised of my play" admits Doughty "Coming here I didn't expect as much ice time as I have got but I have tried to make the most of my chances and things have gone well".

"We knew we were drafting a great player" adds Barr "but the success he is having so early has been a pleasant surprise"

Doughty who stands at 6'0 and 185 pounds was the second defenseman chosen in last years OHL draft at fifth overall. Graduating from a strong Minor Midget program with the Jr. Knights, a team that lost in the finals of the OHL Cup yet has five players from that team seeing regular duty in the OHL this season. Doughty could not have been more excited to be drafted by the Storm due to its proximity to his home town of London and worked very hard to get himself in the best shape he could during the summer months to prepare himself for the challenges in the OHL.

"I was happy to get drafted here, my parents get a chance to come every home game" says Doughty "I wanted to prove to them that I could play and be effective at this level and really concentrated the whole summer doing a lot of bike work and working extensively with weights".

Doughty is the second youngest player in the OHL (John Tavares the youngest) and celebrated his 16th birthday on December 8th however his impact on the Storm team has been tremendous. He is already partnered with gold medal winning defenseman and Nashville first rounder Ryan Parent on the first defence pairing.

"We wanted to partner him with a solid defensive defenseman in Ryan Parent, which in turn has been effective in two ways. It has allowed Drew to take advantage of his strengths in moving the puck and jumping the rush" notes Barr "Their communication as well on the defensive side of the game has improved vastly and they understand each others style the more they play with one another".

"Ryan is such a great defensive player and it really allows me more offensive opportunities because I know he is rock steady on the back end" says Doughty "he is an inspiration for me as far as my hockey career is concerned, he played in the Under 17, Under 18 and the World Juniors, these are all goals I hope to accomplish".

While coach Barr is quick to give praise about his young blue liner he also understands that certain facets of his game still need fine tuning. It is not uncommon for Doughty to play on the PP and the PK as Barr wants to expose him to all types of different situations. Doughty is not going to punish forwards coming down the wing rather he elects to adopt a different strategy when playing on coming forwards. He prefers to angle off shooters from good scoring opportunities and moving his quick feet to keep up with forwards and eliminating them from the play with a well timed stick check. While Doughty flourishes in the offensive side of the game it is defensive zone positioning and decision making that are at times suspect. Doughty has been grateful for the advice that his coach and former NHL'er Barr has offered.

"He has been really helpful making me understand the little things to me" adds Doughty "teaching me not to force things, waiting an extra second to look for a pass or a lane that has opened".

It has been Doughty offensive contributions and overall game this season that garnered an invitation to team Ontario Under 17 team. The tournament gave Doughty an opportunity to see how his game staked up against the best players in his age group. After losing the first two games to the eventual Silver and Gold medal teams (U.S.A. and Quebec) they finished a disappointing fifth. Doughty, who was partnered with Corey Syvret, led his team in points and goals scored as he notched one goal and three assists in five games.

"I enjoyed the whole experience however I think we didn't do that great only finishing in fifth place" admits Doughty. "I think we had the best team there and many people saw that as well once we got rolling after the first two losses.

"It was a great experience; the tournament really helped me discover how far my game has come along and what I need to do to be the best at my position".

While Doughty's late birth date does not make him draft eligible till 2008 he maintains that the draft is not a big concern and he is more interested in team success. However he remains optimistic that he can make a career from hockey and hopes to be playing at the next level when his time comes.

"I hope to be playing in the AHL or NHL in the next five years" Doughty says "I want to keep progressing at every level and my ultimate dream is to play in the NHL some day".