The doctor of defence
When Mark Barrick took over as head coach of the Pelham Panthers last season one of the first things he did was place a call to Adam Scholz.
Barrick had coached the Waterdown native in minor midget with the Niagara North Stars and was curious as to his plans after he graduated from Appleby College.
“He was one of the first guys I got hold of to see what he was going to do coming out of Appleby,” Barrick said. “He’s just a character guy. Character in the room, character on the ice.”
Scholz joined the Panthers last year and had a steady season on the backline, but this season has taken his game to the next level.
Scholz is putting up solid offensive numbers leading all Pelham defencemen with six goals and 17 points in 20 games while playing big minutes in all key situations.
It’s a role in which Scholz is thriving.
“That’s what we all work for to get to,” Scholz said. “Mark and I have a long relationship going back to minor hockey when he coached me. I think there’s trust there and that’s very important to have. With that trust, sometimes you maybe get a longer leash that some other guys.
“It’s the dream and I’m happy it’s working now.”
Scholz worked hard in the off season to lose weight and gain strength.
“He’s a very self-motivated and dedicated guy,” Barrick said. “He felt he wanted to get quicker and he lost some weight and then started to strengthen up. Things like that have added to his game.
“He has a year under his belt in the league and knows what to expect. That maturity and that experience is paying dividends.”
Scholz has been pleased with his performance thus far.
“I knew going into my 20-year-old year I had to step up if we were going to be a better team which we’ve shown so far.”
Scholz said coming in last season has helped set the tone for this season, both individually and as a team.
“Last year for a bunch of our guys and with Mark coming in, it was getting a feel for what the organization is all about and changing the culture,” Scholz said. “Although last year wasn’t much of an improvement, it was to get us to where we are today. Just having the right pieces around has made improvement for everyone.”
Barrick is well aware how important a stud defenceman can be to a team.
“You have to have them. If you don’t (have them) you don’t succeed. We’re very fortunate to have him back there.”
Scholz, who is majoring in sports management at Brock, enjoyed his time at Appleby, a private school in Oakville.
“I think it was great. It was all about the academics there for the most part. I got lots of ice time so that helped with my personal growth,” he said.
The Panthers got off to a quick start this season before cooling off. They still have a solid 12-7-0-1 record and have high hopes of making an extended run come the post-season.
“Everyone in this dressing room believes we’re contenders,” Scholz said. “It’s about us going out there playing our hockey every single night. When we don’t that’s when we get into those tough situations where we’re losing games we shouldn’t be.
“It’s a learning process. We have a lot of young guys who haven’t seen as many games or as many situations as the older guys. It’s about figuring out what works and what it takes to come in and play our game every night.”
The Panthers are in Thorold Thursday and home to Niagara Falls Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
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