Blueliners made a beeline to the gym
Top IceDogs draft picks prepared for training camp by working out on and off ice
School doesn’t officially begin until Tuesday when Isaac Enright and Landon Cato attend Gov. Simcoe Secondary School in St. Catharines for the first time.
Unofficially, the 16-year-old defencemen have been busy this summer cramming for the biggest test of their careers so far — Niagara IceDogs training.
The Ontario Hockey League team’s top two picks in the April draft — Enright, first round, 17th overall; Cato, third round, 46th overall — reported for the opening day of training camp Tuesday eager to begin taking their games to the next level.
To help speed the development process along, Enright, spent the off-season on the ice as well as in the gym. He skated three times a week and worked out an average of four times a week.
“I tried to stay as active as much as possible,” he said.
He didn’t return home to Cobden, Ont., near Pembroke, with a particular set of marching orders after signing a standard player agreement with the IceDogs.
“They didn’t give me too, too much feedback. They said, ‘Keep up with what you’re doing. Just keep working hard,’” Enright said.
“They left the training up to me because I have been doing it for a couple of years now, and it’s working.”
Enright didn’t enter his first OHL camp feeling much pressure to live up to his billing as a first-round pick.
“Maybe there’s a little pressure, but I think everyone is really understanding here,” he said. “It’s a comfortable environment.”
Enright ranks his vision of the ice, ability to read plays and skating as the strengths of his game.
And the top priorities for improvement?
“The No. 1 thing is minimizing mistakes, like minimizing turnovers, making the smartest play possible every time,” he said.
At just over six feet and 172 pounds, Enright is on the small size, but he will grow out of that.
“I think I will fit in as a 16-year-old. The 16-year-olds are always a bit smaller,” he said. “I’m six feet and a half right now, so I should
be good.
“There are lots of smaller guys than me.”
In addition to attending a camp for tryouts, the six-foot-one, 206pound Cato participated in the OHL Gold Cup tournament in the off-season.
He found both to be eye-opening experiences.
“It’s a bit harder, of course. Guys are a lot stronger, a lot more skilled,” he said. “They make you read and react to the play a lot faster.
“You have to step up your game that much more.”
Cato, who was told by his agent to expect to be taken in the first three rounds of the draft, said being picked by a team so close to his home in the Toronto suburb of Ajax is a bonus.
“It was the perfect fit for me. It makes me feel more comfortable, for sure,” he said. “It’s a great
place to play.”
Cato intends to use his size and strength to rile up opponents in the “dirty areas” of the ice.
“I hit a lot. I like being aggressive,” he said. “I play with a lot of energy.”
Enright thinks breaking the 60 prospects who opened training
into four teams for scrimmages is a good way to evaluate players.
“They’ll get to see everybody in different situations,” he suggested.
Enright wasn’t too concerned about going 100 per cent into the boards against someone who will be a teammate with the IceDogs.
“I don’t know. I just try to play my game. I’m not terribly physical anyway, but everyone understands it’s a game,” he said. “Whenever you’re on the ice, you don’t really have any friends if they’re on the other team.
“You just play as hard as you can. After the game, it’s all good.”
Niagara opened its schedule of five exhibition games last night at Vale Health and Wellness Centre in Port Colborne against the Barrie Colts. The IceDogs host the Windsor Spitfires tonight in a “home” game at Fort Erie Leisureplex.
Niagara also visits Barrie, Thursday, Sept. 12; hosts the Peterborough Petes, Friday, Sept. 13; and plays the Petes in Millbrook, Ont., Saturday, Sept. 14; before the Thursday, Sept. 19, season opener versus the Sudbury Wolves at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines.