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Wolves returnees embrace greater roles at training camp

Blue and White Game goes Friday morning

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A freshly inked NHL contract in hand, Sudbury Wolves forward Chase Stillman was able to concentrate Thursday on making his mark at the Sudbury Wolves’ main training camp.

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And make a mark he did — all over the score sheet, along with linemates Landon McCallum and Quentin Musty, who overcame a quiet start to combine on each of Team Green’s goals in a 6-4 loss to Team White at Sudbury Community Arena.

Stillman finished the hour-long affair with three goals and one assist, while Musty had a goal and two helpers and McCallum collected three assists in the morning scrimmage, the first of two such contests for the Green squad on Thursday.

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“I was so excited to come back here, I didn’t sleep too well the night before,” said Stillman, a first-round pick in the New Jersey Devils, who signed an entry-level contract roughly two weeks before arriving at the Elgin Street Barn.

“We have two years of draft picks now and I was excited to see them, to meet all the guys and play a little bit more of a leadership role, and the first two days here have been great.”

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Lining up alongside Musty, the No. 1 pick in this year’s OHL draft and a standout since the start of rookie camp, and McCallum, a 2019 first-rounder and Stillman’s close friend, was a bonus.

“I have been doing a lot of skills skating all summer and real games are hard to find, besides the short tournaments I have played in,” said Stillman, an 18-year-old Peterborough, Ont., product and Sudbury’s second-round pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection. “Quentin Musty is the first-overall pick and he jumped right in with McCallum and me and I thought we played really well together. There was some early chemistry there, which is nice to see.

“Landon was great. We’re really good buddies off the ice and it makes that kind of communication on the ice easier. I love the way he plays, he’s a pass-first guy and it seems like he can always pass in the right areas for me to shoot it. In the first game, it worked out pretty well.”

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McCallum was just as eager to hit the ice this week, after a busy summer of training and an appearance at the PBHH Invitational showcase in Erie, Penn., this past June.

“It was awesome,” said McCallum, a short time after the first scrimmage. “Honestly, it’s great just to be in the room with the guys again and to form that bond from the start. I know we lost that game today, but I think we learned a lot and that’s the biggest thing with getting to play this year — we’re going to get to learn again and to get better at hockey. Just from missing that one year, we did miss a lot of development, but now it’s time to dial in and I think everyone’s ready.”

Impressed with the finishing ability of both Stillman and Musty, the 17-year-old Delhi, Ont., native was happy to play the part of setup man while recording three primary assists.

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“If I can find those guys and they can get to good spots and let that shot go, we’re going to have a good chance at scoring,” McCallum said. “They’re both really smart players and forming that chemistry from the start is huge. The more I can learn about each of them, the easier it gets going out there. We turned it up in the second, so we’ll see what comes next.”

After dropping its first contest on Wednesday, Team White got started quickly on Thursday morning, with Kosta Manikis lighting the lamp less than a minute into the contest before adding a pair of assists. Teammates Luca Ricciardi, Owen Hardy, Ethan Larmand, Ryan Burke and Adam Barone also tickled the twine for the White side, while Ben Rossi made 20 saves.

Gavin McCarthy turned aside 35 shots for Team Green.

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Stillman, McCallum and their teammates took a 6-3 victory over Team Blue in their second scrimmage Thursday afternoon, though with a different cast of characters leading on offence.

Free-agent forward Cole Crowder, the son of former NHLer Troy Crowder and younger brother of Miami University blueliner Bray, scored a hat trick, while fellow Greater Sudburian Gio Biondi had four assists for the winners.

Sudbury Wolves forward Gio Biondi, right, looks to set up a scoring chance while defenceman Josh Hoover defends during a training camp scrimmage at Sudbury Community Arena in Sudbury, Ontario on Thursday, September 2, 2021.
Sudbury Wolves forward Gio Biondi, right, looks to set up a scoring chance while defenceman Josh Hoover defends during a training camp scrimmage at Sudbury Community Arena in Sudbury, Ontario on Thursday, September 2, 2021. Photo by Ben Leeson/The Sudbury Star/Postmedia Network

Owen Perala, Devin Mauro and Alex Pineau also scored for Green and OA goalie Mitchell Weeks made 27 saves in his training camp debut.

Nick DeGrazia, David Goyette and Ryan Smith tallied for the Blue squad, while Ethan Morrow turned aside 22 shots.

Several skaters made positive impressions on McCallum on Thursday, including returnees Larmand and Nathan Ribau, both of whom will look to play a regular shift this season after having limited roles as rookies in 2019-20.

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“Those are two guys who kind of had a tough first year, like me, not playing much, and missed their second year, as well,” McCallum said. “Just from watching their two games, I can see Ribau has been skating really well and it looks like he’s lighter on his feet and confident out there, and it’s the same with Larmand. Having that confidence, and being an older guy helps, too, but it’s a huge thing. When guys play with confidence, it’s a game-changer.”

Tough or not, that rookie year yielded lessons that the likes of McCallum and Stillman, now key members of the Sudbury squad, will be eager to pass on to younger teammates and prospects vying for more ice time and more responsibility.

“It comes down to work ethic,” Stillman said. “That’s the one thing you can control, how hard you work. Sometimes, your hands are going to be moving and your feet aren’t and vice versa, but the one thing you can control is work ethic and that’s the thing that gets you noticed, if you can do it every game, every shift.

“It’s hard being a 16-year-old. I was there and I know it’s difficult, but you have to find ways to stand out, and from what I watched in the first game, I thought a couple of the guys have found what they need to do.”

The Wolves will finish main camp on Friday with their annual Blue and White game. Puck drop is set for 10 a.m.

The game is free and open to the public, with several COVID-19 protocols in place.

bleeson@postmedia.com

Twitter: @ben_leeson

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