T-birds player feels at home in Windsor
Seattle Thunderbirds centre Scott Eansor is no stranger to Windsor.
For the 21-year-old, playing at the 99th Memorial Cup is almost a homecoming.
“I was actually born across the river in Detroit, but a lot of Eansors reside over here in Windsor,” the five-foot-nine, 185-pound Eansor said. “My mom (Jean) and dad (Norm) and family grew up in Windsor.”
Eansor calls Englewood, Colo., home, but he bounced around the United States growing up.
“I’ve jumped everywhere,” Eansor said. “After we moved from Detroit, we went to Florida and then Maryland … that’s where I started hockey … and then to Denver and Colorado.”
But Eansor, who helped the U.S. win a bronze medal at last year’s World Junior Hockey Championship, still calls Canada home in many ways.
“I’m a dual citizen and (we) actually have a cabin in Bruce County,” Eansor said. “I come to Windsor every year. My home base has always been the cottage at Bruce Beach. That’s where I’m close to, so it’s awesome to be home.”
Eansor was a big part of Seattle’s first Western Hockey League title in 40 years of existence. From the start of the season, he can recall family members pulling for him to get to Windsor for the Memorial Cup as he finishes his junior career.
“It’s been a fun journey for the whole family,” said Eansor, who has played all four of his junior seasons with the Thunderbirds after the club made him a third-round pick in 2012.
“At the start of the season, people I talked to and family and friends joked, ‘You have to come to Windsor so we can see you play as a 20-year-old.’ So, it’s pretty cool.”
It’s been a rough tournament for the Thunderbirds. Eansor went into the club’s record books when he became the first Seattle player to score a goal in the Memorial Cup.
However, his team went into Tuesday’s final round robin game against the Saint John Sea Dogs needing a win just to stay alive in the tournament.
Eansor’s goal was also to use the Memorial Cup tournament as a springboard to a professional hockey contract.
He admits, that of all the places he’s travelled to in hockey, he’s excited that his junior career will come to an end in Windsor.
“I guess it’s strange, of all the places to be, it’s Windsor,” Eansor said. “I get to finish my junior hockey career where I started.”