Strong start for rookie forward
The Owen Sound Attack’s loss was the Pelham Panthers’ gain.
Nick Gilby came close to cracking the Attack’s opening roster following a strong showing at training camp, but didn’t sulk when he was cut and instead is using it as motivation to improve his game.
“It definitely hurt a lot but it just made me want to work that much harder,” the 16-year-old St. Catharines native said. “It was hard, but at the end of the day, I feel it just made me stronger as a person and makes me want it even more.
“It was such a great experience to be out there playing with those guys. The fans were awesome and everyone was so nice.”
Panthers coach/assistant general manager Zac Rinaldo feels Gilby has all the tools to play at the next level.
“I see him being in the OHL next year, 100 per cent,” Rinaldo said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they sign him halfway through our season. He was one of their last cuts. He was obviously heartbroken and pissed off because in his opinion, he deserved to be there, and I believe that he deserves to be there right now.”
Gilby, who attends Sir Winston Churchill, is off to an impressive start with the Panthers, scoring five goals and six points through seven games.
“It’s definitely great for my confidence in this league and it has been a lot of fun with all these guys,” he said.
Gilby, who played a pair of games with the St. Catharines Construction Falcons last season as a call-up, wasn’t quite sure what to expect in his rookie season.
“I just wanted to work my hardest and give everything I got every day,” he said. “Not really any expectations. Just working hard.
“It’s a cool experience. I get to play against guys and they’re a lot stronger and a lot faster. It’s good for me.”
Rinaldo loves Gilby’s compete level.
“He brings a lot of tenacity, brings a crazy work ethic,” Rinaldo said. “He’s really hard to take off the puck. He’s got an engine and it’s non-stop — practices and games, every shift. He has been very consistent. He has a big engine and his engine fires at all cylinders, every game.”
Gilby has seen a regular shift so far as well as time killing penalties.
“He obviously has the most goals on our team, so he’s providing a lot of offence for us,” Rinaldo said. “I do want to work him into the power play. I didn’t have him on the power play at the beginning of the season for a reason. I wanted to motivate him to be on the power play and as soon as he saw he wasn’t he immediately he came to me and asked me what he needs to do to be on the power play.”
The Panthers took notice of Gilby at the OHL Cup.
“He stood out to me at the OHL Cup, just his speed and his tenacity and his work ethic and then I got a call saying he hasn’t signed with a team yet,” Rinaldo said. “We were big fans of his game. We just didn’t think he would be available for us and when he became available we met him and found out he had a great personality, he was from a great family, a great kid. Match that up with his work ethic and his tenacity, it’s just a great friggin’ recipe.”
The Panthers dropped their first five games of the season before defeating Welland 6-2 last Friday and then dropping a 5-4 decision in overtime to the undefeated Caledonia Corvairs Sunday.
“It was massive, it was a big weight off a lot of people’s shoulders, a lot of player’s shoulders,” Rinaldo said. “I think the belief starts to creep in now. I think it’s just playing the right way, no matter if we win or lose. We have to stay on the right trajectory to move forward, and play the right way and practise the right way. Small steps towards collecting points because right now we’re in the point business because we have to make playoffs of every point matters.”
Rinaldo said the Panthers learned the necessity of working hardest when things aren’t going well.
“You have to address that the work you do in the dark times is how quickly you get to the lights,” he said. “They knew we were in the dark and the dark times they suck, they really do, but the work you do in the dark dictates how fast you get out of the dark.”
The Panthers are at St. Marys Friday and home to the LaSalle Vipers Sunday at 2:45 p.m.
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