Jack of all trades
Big, tough defenceman who can skate don’t grow on trees, so when Jack Sykes contacted Thorold Blackhawks owner/coach Scott Barnes about participating in some summer skates, Barnes thought he had nothing to lose by taking a look.
“I really had no expectations when he came to us in the summer,” Barnes said. “After his first skate we thought here’s a big kid that can move but I’m not sure exactly what he’s got.”
After a couple of more skates it became clear Sykes would be able to help the Blackhawks.
“He really impressed us, just kind of someone who has come out of nowhere and is playing a real big part for us on the back end.”
Barnes said being so close to Brock continues to pay off.
“It’s a great find,” he said. “The nice thing about this area is when you get Brock students — all the teams down here benefit from it — who are coming down from school and we can get them out here where normally we wouldn’t have them.”
Sykes last played in 2019/20 at the major midget level in his hometown of Burlington.
After missing last season due to the COVID pandemic, Sykes thought his hockey career might have to take a backseat to his studies at Brock.
“With COVID and everything, I wasn’t sure (what would happen),” he said. “I thought after major midget that would probably be it for me.”
But Sykes had yet to shake the desire to play completely and reached out to Barnes.
“I was looking at teams in the area and the first one I came across was Thorold,” he said. “I found Scott’s e-mail and reached out and it just ended up working out.”
Sykes, who has collected two goals so far and is listed at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, was hopeful he could make the jump even after being off for a full year and never playing at the junior level.
“I thought I could, I thought I would give it a try,” he said. “I was confident that I would be able to do it as I got back to practice and got my legs back by skating more.
“At first I was thinking I wouldn’t miss it but then once I got back into it, I couldn’t imagine going without it now.”
Barnes likes Sykes’ skill set.
“He’s a big body, he’s physical and he’s nasty in front of the net,” Barnes said. “He is providing offence, killing penalties, he’s taking on a pretty big role in the back end.
“He’s 19 but it is his first year of junior so he’s adapting just like a lot of our other rookies.”
The Blackhawks are off to an inconsistent start with a 2-3-1 mark.
“It’s really hard to pinpoint things right now, we’re still a work in progress,” Barnes said. “We’ve done a lot of really good stuff. When we watch video we like our game but we have some breakdowns where they cost us.”
The Blackhawks fell behind 5-1 to the Pelham Panthers Sunday, but rallied with five straight goals, including the winner by Sykes in overtime, to pull out a 6-5 victory.
“I’m kind of hoping the last game might be the coming together (point) for this team,” Barnes said. “I think we all know we’re a good team, we have some good players out here. We’ve shown that we can score.
“I think it’s going to take us about 15 games to really know what we are. It’s been an up and down six games so far, but we’re kind of OK where we are.”
The Blackhawks are in Welland Sunday and home to the Niagara Falls Canucks Monday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.
Dear reader. If you liked this story or one of the 3,500 other stories found on our website, please consider hitting the Support Us button on the right-hand side of our home page and making a PayPal contribution to our website. Your support would be much appreciated. If you are a business owner, please consider advertising on our site. Our rates are reasonable and we provide plenty of exposure for your business. Contact bpotrecz@outlook.com for more information.
