By Aaron Bell
Olympic Spirit
The Sudbury Wolves were the most recent OHL club to get into the Olympic Spirit when the torch passed through the Nickel City last Saturday. Wolves owner Mark Burgess and Sudbury native forward Kyle Tarini carried the torch along Elm Street before hosting the Niagara IceDogs that night. At the game, Canadian Olympic Women's Team members and Sudbury natives Tessa Bonhomme and Rebecca Johnston participated in the ceremonial puck drop with Burgess and Tarini, alongside IceDogs' captain Andrew Aggozzino and Wolves' captain John Kurtz.
The Spitfires are looking forward to having World Junior gold medalist Cam Fowler and Team Canada teammates Ryan Ellis, Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique and Greg Nemisz in the lineup for the first time in nearly a month when they host the Saginaw Spirit on Thursday.
"The guys you see up there are the foundation of what we have here," Spitfires' coach Bob Boughner told the Windsor Star this week. "It's been tough without them but we've gone 4-2 without them, which is a nice surprise. We're definitely looking forward to having them back and then they have one more job to do (win Memorial Cup)."
Forward Richard Panik recently returned from the World Juniors after playing for Slovakia and was part of a blockbuster deal that the Spitfires made with the Belleville Bulls on Tuesday.
The Spitfires added goaltender Philipp Grubauer, who helped Germany win the second division World Juniors last month, along with veteran defenceman Marc Cantin and Detroit Red Wings' prospect Stephen Johnston to beef up their lineup for another Memorial Cup run.
"The guys are excited to be getting everyone back because they know what they can accomplish when everyone's back," Boughner said.
Back in the OHL
After helping Canada win a silver medal at the World Junior Championships in Saskatoon, Niagara IceDogs captain Alex Pietrangelo finds himself back with the Ontario Hockey League team.
Pietrangelo, the fourth overall pick by the St. Louis Blues in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, spent the first half of the season in the NHL but played just nine games with the Blues. He was a healthy scratch for several games before being loaned to Team Canada for his second stint at the World Juniors.
Pietrangelo scored three goals and led all defencemen at the World Juniors with 12 points for Team Canada.
"This is going to make you a better person and a better player to go through something like this," Pietrangelo said after the gold medal game at the World Juniors on Tuesday. "I appreciate the opportunity and I wouldn't trade this for anything."
Prior to suiting up for the IceDogs, upon his return Pietrangelo was dealt to the Barrie Colts along with Petteri Simila and Chris DeSousa with a draft pick in exchange for the Colts rookie Ryan Strome, Simon Gronvaldt, and five draft picks.
Olympic Dreams
Count Drew Doughty among the surprised that he got the nod to join Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics next month in Vancouver.
Doughty, the sophomore defenceman with the Los Angeles Kings, was an all-star and World Junior star during his junior career with the Guelph Storm but even he was surprised to get the call despite being just 20 years old.
“When I heard the voice mail I was pretty excited,” Doughty told the Guelph Tribune. “I figured I had an outside shot of making the team, maybe 50-50, and I don’t know if it has really sunk in yet. It probably won’t until I get on that plane to Vancouver, then I’m sure I’ll have the jitters.”
