At their best, who were the best defencemen in the history of the Guelph Storm?
This isn’t about their body of work in Guelph, how long they played here, or what they went on to accomplish in their post-Guelph careers. It’s about when they were performing at their highest level while in a Storm uniform.
It’s also not about points scored, but their overall game.
It is a list that might look very different a year or two from now, as Ryan Merkley and Dmitri Samorukov both have the potential to crack the top 10 as they hit their peak.
But for now here’s my top 10, and it should also be noted that there are a lot of captains on this list.
Feel free to be outraged.
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Drew Doughty: For all his skill, size, hockey sense and talent, their were always two things that impressed me about Doughty: one, his pure love of the game. I haven’t seen many players that just loved being at the rink and on the ice as much as Doughty did. And two, his uncanny ability to not skate himself into trouble, which in itself is a skill.
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Chris Hajt: Never scored more than 35 points in a season in Guelph, but living proof that points and penalty minutes do not necessarily define you as a player. Smart, reliable, and perhaps the best defensive defenceman the team has ever had.
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Kevin Klein: Played only 46 regular season games for Guelph but was dominant, then averaged a point a game in 22 playoff matches. Big, smart and arguably one of the toughest cookies to ever wear a Storm jersey. A punishing bodychecker.
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Fedor Tyutin: Again, dominant presence at both ends of the ice in just one season. Oh my what could have been if he had returned the next year. Completely dictated the pace of the game.
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Kevin Dallman: an on-ice general who developed into a solid defender to compliment his obvious offensive talents.
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Dan Girardi: unassuming at first, but so good at the end of his tenure here. Just the kind of player you wanted out there every time the other team's top forwards came over the boards.
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Ryan Parent: a Chris Hajt clone and such a beautiful skater.
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Kevin Mitchell: Averaged 70 points a season in his three years in Guelph. A power play dynamo and brilliant offensive player.
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Matt Finn: Was a plus-57 in the Storm’s OHL championship year. Never flashy, but always dependable and an excellent captain.
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Nick Ebert: Doesn’t matter that he only played 46 games in a Storm jersey, I defy you to find someone who played as dominant a 46 games as Ebert did.
Honourable mentions: Andrew Archer, Ben Harpur, Darryl McArthur, Rumun Ndur, Andrey Pedan, Ryan Risidore, Regan Stocco.
