Habs prospect Hillis is having bounceback season with Storm
Guelph Storm forward Cam Hillis needed a few games at the beginning of this year’s Ontario Hockey League season to get back up to speed after all the time he spent off the ice rehabilitating injuries.
The 19-year-old Montreal Canadiens prospect suffered numerous setbacks in 2018-19 — a torn MCL and a twice broken collarbone — that cost him half the regular season and almost the entire playoffs, including Guelph’s OHL championship run and participation in the Memorial Cup.
Hillis first tore his MCL in late December and missed nearly eight weeks of action. During his third game back on the ice in February, the Enniskillen, Ont., native broke his collarbone and was sidelined another eight weeks. Hillis expected to be OK for the post-season and made it back for two April playoff games in Round 2 against the London Knights only to break his collarbone again, leading to surgery and the official end of his season.
Hillis would end his sophomore year with 22 points in only 33 games, and had to sit and watch his team compete for major junior’s top prize with screws in his body putting the broken bone back together.
“Everyone goes through adversity and that was my fair share,” said the five-foot-11, 174pound Hillis. “It was soulsearching time, but I found positives to focus on every day. Eventually, the time crept away and I was back and healthy and ready to go.
“I had a great summer training, kind of got back to my normal self, out there having fun, looking to improve every day to get to the next level.”
Last season was a disappointing step back for Hillis, personally and statistically, after being selected 66th overall by the Canadiens at the 2018 NHL draft. After producing 59 points in 60 games as a 17-year-old in his rookie year one season prior, much of 2018-19 was spent trying to stay connected to the team.
Hillis, who was named captain ahead of his third season with Guelph, has had a bounceback year and could be near the top of the league in scoring right now if the OHL season opened in mid-October instead of late September.
The 19-year-old right-handed centre struggled out the gate with just three points in his first seven games. But he broke out with a three-goal, five-point performance on Oct. 18 in a 7-5 win against the Erie Otters, and has kept the pedal to the floor ever since.
As of Thursday, he was tied for 10th in OHL scoring with 15 goals and 56 points in 38 games.
“I started to relax and focused less on points and from there it started clicking,” Hillis said. “Me and (Pavel) Gogolev have had a lot of chemistry and from that point forward it’s been kind of natural.”