THE CANADIAN PRESS
KITCHENER, Ont. — Behind a fuzzy Fu-Manchu moustache flashes a bright smile.
Claude Giroux, the Gatineau Olympiques star winger and a Philly Flyers NHL prospect, has the puck — and the world — on a string.
"What do we expect?" said Giroux of Friday’s Memorial Cup-opening matchup against the host Kitchener Rangers. "We don’t even know. We’ll show up there and play our game. We have to have fun out there."
Life is a beach for Giroux, the 20-year-old Olympiques star scorer from Hearst, one of the last northern Ontario outposts accessible by car.
His family moved to Ottawa when he was 14.
Three years ago, he showed up as a walk-on at Olympiques training camp after being snubbed in the Ontario Hockey League draft. Now, he’s a hotshot Flyers prospect after notching 125 goals and 321 points in three years with Gatineau.
"He was a surprise for us," Olympiques coach Benoit Groulx said.
"At the time, Claude Giroux was 17 and was skinny. He missed most of the season with mononucleosis. He wasn’t playing on a good (tier 2) team."
Now, Giroux is the key cog in the Gatineau offence.
Rangers coach Peter DeBoer said Giroux might be the best player in the 60-team Canadian Hockey League. The Rangers plan to treat him like they did Sarnia’s Steven Stamkos in the OHL playoffs. They want to snuff out his chances before they materialize.
That’s not so easy to do.
"He’s a crafty player," Groulx said. "Sometimes you believe there’s nothing going on on the ice. Then, all of a sudden, he pass the puck to someone and the guy is away on a breakaway. He’s making plays out of the blue."
Giroux is familiar with other players at this tournament.
He is friends with Rangers Matt Halischuk and Steve Mason from the world juniors, where he helped Canada win gold. He knows other Ottawa-area products, including blue-liner Ben Shutron and rookie centre Jason Akeson. Belleville’s world juniors duo of Shawn Matthias and P.K. Subban are also good acquaintances.
Giroux and three other Olympiques have a chance to stick it to the Ontario league that snubbed them in this tournament.
Forward Paul Byron also passed through the OHL draft.
Darryl Smith was cut by the Guelph Storm in 2005.
Blue-liner Julien Machabee was a spare part with the Rangers for three seasons. Machabee is now out with an ankle injury.
"I’m sure it’s a little bigger motivation for us," Giroux said of the chance to rub the OHL’s scouting noses in it this week.
"I think I’m happy not to get drafted into the O. Maybe that’s why I m where I am right now."
(Waterloo Region Record)
