By Aaron Bell
Tyler Toffoli knew that he wasn't producing the way he wanted to with the Ottawa 67's but it took a recent shake up from new coach Chris Byrne to snap him out of an early-season funk. So far, the results have been terrific.
After starting the season with five straight games without a point and just a goal and three assists to show for his first 10 games of the season, Toffoli is suddenly one of the hottest players in the Ontario Hockey League.
Toffoli ended October with four goals and six points in the final three games and scored 11 goals and 23 points in 12 games in November to earn OHL player of the month honours.
The 67's first round pick in 2008 said that Byrne helped him get into the right frame of mind to produce consistently.
"Coach Byrne has been getting on me a lot lately and telling me to work hard in practice," said Toffoli, who leads the 67's with 18 goals and is third on his team with 33 points in 30 games this season. "I've been working hard in practice and it's been showing in games."
After spending his freshman season playing under the legendary Brian Kilrea, Toffoli said that it took a little while for the 67's to get in a groove with Byrne calling the shots. Toffoli is a big fan of Byrne, who spent the previous three seasons as an assistant with the 67's.
"He just lets you know straight up how it is," said Toffoli, who suited up for Team OHL in the SUBWAY Super Series late last month. "If you're not playing too well or if you're not working hard he'll just tell you right away. He'll pull you aside and just tell you and I think it's good. Once he lets you know then you have to bounce back and get back at it."
Toffoli came into the OHL as a highly regarded sniper after helping the Toronto Jr. Canadiens win the OHL Cup Minor Midget championship in 2008. Toffoli was teammates with former first overall pick John McFarland of the Sudbury Wolves and Mississauga St. Michael's Majors' first rounder Devante Smith-Pelly.
Toffoli scored 68 goals and 174 points riding shotgun with McFarland and Smith-Pelly said that he helped make everyone on the team better.
"Playing with him for six years really made me a lot better," said Smith-Pelly, who is enjoying a productive sophomore campaign with the Majors. "Practicing and playing with him every day for that long you know you are going to get better. It was really fun."
League opponents are taking notice of Toffoli's increase in production. He has already match the 17 goals he scored as a rookie last season and said that the recent turnaround in his game is simple to explain.
"I think it's just hard work," said the 17-year-old Scarborough native who is among the OHL's rated prospects for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. "It's also been the guys that I've been playing with - they've been giving me the puck and good scoring opportunities and I've been putting them in the net."
