Mitch Calvert
Colton Kennedy is playing closer to home and back in the SIJHL after a tough stint in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
A win-win situation as far as the 20-year-old Kenora native is concerned.
The Fort Frances Jr. Sabres acquired Kennedy from the Winnipeg South Blues in exchange for defenceman Kyle Friesen, who played only two games with the local squad before being sent packing.
“I’m excited. I’ve been at home for a month not playing so it’s good to get back out here,” Kennedy said after Monday morning’s practice at the Ice for Kids Arena.
“[Coach Wayne Strachan] described the practice as hard-working, battling, and skating and I was thinking, ‘Hmm, three things I’m not ready for’, but it’ll come,” he remarked.
“It was a tough first practice, but it can only get better.”
Kennedy spent the last two seasons with the SIJHL’s Thunder Bay Bearcats, but began the 2008-09 campaign with the Portage Terriers of the MJHL. He eventually was traded to the Winnipeg South Blues, where he tallied three assists in eight games before leaving the team a month ago.
“I wasn’t happy, and that’s all I can really say about that,” Kennedy said of his reasons for leaving the Blues. “I’m not a city guy, more or less, so Winnipeg wasn’t working for me and I’d rather be at home than not having fun.”
Kennedy should provide an offensive spark once he gets back into the swing of things, but said he’s willing to provide any role he can.
“It’s hard to say, wherever they find a spot for me,” Kennedy insisted. “I’d like to be scoring, but I’ll do what I have to do to help the team.”
He doesn’t have too high of expectations for himself coming off a lengthy layoff, especially since a similar layoff last year made it tough to regain his mid-season form right away.
Kennedy missed nine weeks after a hit from the Sabres’ Mackenzie York sidelined him with a concussion.
“We’re just working on trying to get me back in shape, a month off is tough,” he admitted. “Last year I missed those nine weeks with an injury, and it was tough coming back and getting into shape.
“I don’t remember the hit, but everyone said it was a dirty hit.”
The trade here doesn’t mean completely new surroundings for Kennedy, who played with a good number of Sabres’ players earlier in his hockey career, including Kenora’s Chris Sinclair and David Novak.
“I know four or five guys, so it’s nice to have that connection to the team already,” Kennedy noted.
Despite limited success in the MJHL, Kennedy said the two junior ‘A’ leagues are similar.
“Everyone was telling me that league [MJHL] was way better, but I didn’t find that to be the case,” he remarked. “I think junior ‘A’ across the country is competitive.
“I think the top teams from any junior ‘A’ league can compete with each other, and that’s why you have the championship in the end [Royal Bank Cup].”
