Lucas Punkari
After being on teams that went to the Memorial Cup and the OHL’s Eastern Conference final in his first two campaigns, Belleville Bulls’ captain and Emo native Luke Judson then endured a rough couple of seasons as the Bulls missed the playoffs two years ago and were knocked out of the opening round last year.
But Judson and the rest of the team are enjoying a much improved run of success this season as they currently are in a tightly-contested race for top spot in the conference.
“It’s never fun to be the guy wearing the ‘C’ when your team is losing games as it really makes you look at yourself and what you are doing wrong,” the 20-year-old Judson explained.
“I’m really proud of the guys this year as we have been stepping up and winning games, and that makes me feel better about what I’m doing here as a leader,” he added.
Heading into a home game tonight against the Oshawa Generals, the Bulls currently sit in second place in the East Division and fifth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 21-14-1-0 record—just six points back of the division-leading Ottawa 67’s.
It’s a marked improvement over the last two seasons for the Bulls, who had 21 and 20 wins, respectively, as the team was forced to rebuild after winning three-straight division crowns with standout players such as PK Subban and Shawn Matthias on their roster.
“I like to think that winning games like the ones here [a 6-5 win over the host Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on Dec. 29] are a huge deal in how we’ve become a better team,” noted Judson, who has been the Bulls’ captain since January, 2010.
“In the past couple of years, when we would give up a lead like we did here tonight [Thursday] by letting in a couple of goals, that would snowball into allowing five goals and we would have no chance of coming back,” he remarked.
“But now, our character is definitely coming through and it’s exciting to stay in games that are tight like that.”
Despite being able to dress a full 20-man roster in only 17 of their 36 games so far in the season, the Bulls have been able to keep up their winning ways thanks to the contributions by veteran players, such as Winnipeg Jets’ draft pick Austen Brassard, and newcomers like Russian forward Daniil Zharkov.
“It’s been a good mix with different guys stepping up all of the time,” Judson said.
“Tonight [Thursday] in the Soo, the line of [Adam] Payerl, [Michael] Curtis, and Brassard had a good game, and on other nights it’s our line [which sees Judson working with Zharkov and Brendan Gaunce] or the third line that is helping to carry the load out there.”
But while Judson is quick to laud the success of the other members of the Bulls’ roster, his teammates believe the leadership of their captain is a key contributor to their improvement.
“He’s not always the most verbal guy out on the ice, but he leads by example with his actions when he plays,” noted Bulls’ goalie Malcolm Subban.
“All of the guys in dressing room look up to him and respect him, and I think that’s why he’s a perfect fit for our team.”
“If someone needs to say something in the dressing room, he’s always one of the first guys in the room that will speak up,” said Gaunce.
“He’s shown over the past couple of years that he’s one of the better captains in the league, and he’s just a great leader in every way,” he reasoned.
In addition to the praise of his teammates, the Bulls’ coaching staff has been impressed with Judson’s contributions, especially on the ice this season.
“Luke has a found a way in his over-age season to add to his game,” explained assistant coach Jake Grimes.
“Once someone gets to 18, 19, or 20 years of age, they end up staying the same with how they play,” he noted. “But Luke has found a jump and a step that he’s had in him at times and he now has it for every game.
“We forget sometimes how much we rely on him as he’s on our first line on offence, our first line on the power play, and our first line on the penalty-kill,” Grimes added.
“And you never want to really take him for granted as he does such a great job.”
However, when asked about his own play, Judson feels there’s still room for improvement, especially with his consistency.
“I’ve had some great stretches this year but I’ve also had some stretches that I’m not so proud of,” admitted Judson, who is fifth in team scoring with 24 points (11 goals and 13 assists) in 35 games.
“The biggest thing for me right now is to keep up that same consistency level through the rest of the season, not just in scoring goals and getting points but just keeping in the same mindset every night and play that muck-and-grind style that has gotten me to where I am now,” he added.
While the season has seen a lot of great moments for Judson thus far, one low-light came back on Dec. 2 in Kingston, when he was knocked out during a fight with Frontenacs’ captain Tyler J. Brown.
“It really hurts the pride when you go down like that,” Judson sighed.
“It’s always tough when you get knocked out cold at centre ice, but it was especially tough as I had some friends and family that came down to watch the game and they had to see that happen to me.”
After being helped off the ice by the Bulls’ training staff, many people feared Judson could be knocked out of the lineup with a concussion for the second time in 2011, after he missed the first round of the playoffs with one in March.
But after sitting out just one game, the Emo native was back on the ice.
“It’s safe to say that [when] you’re knocked out like that, you are going to end up having a concussion,” Judson explained.
“But I was one of those lucky cases where that didn’t happen to me, so I’m very thankful for that and that there was nothing else wrong with me.”
Looking towards the future, Judson is setting his sights on trying to get a pro contract once his final season in the OHL comes to an end. But he also is keeping his options open on the post-secondary front.
“The CIS recruiting season has just opened up, and I’ve had a lot of schools calling me through that, so that’s something you definitely have to look into and see what is best for you if a pro opportunity doesn’t come up,” he reasoned.
“I think anyone that comes into this league, though, is looking for that pro opportunity, and I’m not different, so I’m hoping for something to come along and I’ll let my play on the ice speak for itself,” he stressed.
In the meantime, Judson will be looking to help his squad improve on their standing in the tight Eastern Conference. They only are six points out of the top spot in the conference but only have a seven-point cushion over ninth place.
“You can tell by the standings that no one is going to give us a night off and we need to remember that going into every game,” Judson said.
“We had a tough game against Kingston right before the Christmas break and even though they are at the bottom of the league, they didn’t play like they were.
“There’s a lot to look forward to here, and it’s exciting to think about what we can do come playoff time,” added Judson.
“But we have a lot of work that we need to do before then,” he warned.
