‘Blanch’ providing physical presence

“Moose.”

That’s how first-year Stinger Trevor Blanchard found out about Concordia. The Sudbury native was tending bar at a local watering hole when former Stinger Luc Messier (aka Moose) “came into my bar, and he told me to come down and check it out. So, I called up Kevin, and the rest is history.”

With the departure of tough guy, Colin Scotland, the Stingers had a place for someone who wasn’t afraid to throw his weight around, but in Blanchard also got four years of major junior experience, and the gritty winger is also not shy with the puck.

For someone who’s so aggressive on the ice, Blanchard is as relaxed as they come. The 22 year old grew up in Sudbury. He still spends his summers there with his “buddies and family.” He bartends at a local bar, and this summer he worked for Pioneer Construction fixing pot holes.

Being a small town with a major junior team, hockey is a big part of Sudbury life. “My dad lied about my age, and I started playing hockey when I was three. My dad coached me all the way up til peewee so I could play a year up. In Sudbury, AAA starts at minor peewee, so that’s when I started playing AAA.” It was his father who was his coach and biggest fan that got him playing forward. “My dad threw me up front, and I just really liked it. I liked to score goals.”

He was drafted as an underage in Bantam by Owen Sound of the Ontario Hockey League, and moved to Owen Sound in grade 11. “Owen Sound is smaller than Sudbury, I’m used to small towns. And obviously, I was a little homesick, but it’s common. The people there made it fairly easy for me. I lived with a teacher, and she answered my questions; they were a second family to me.” He returns every summer to play in the team golf tournament and visit with his former billet family.

In the summer of 2002, he was invited to NHL rookie camp as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings, which he counts as one of his most memorable experiences. He made it through rookie camp and on to the main camp. “It was a dream come true,” he said with a blinding grin. “I was treated like a king. I came in, and I was sitting between Holmstrom and Robitaille,” he said with a hint of a French accent. “Luc Robitaille saw that I had a french last name, and he kind of took me under his wing. He’s a great NHL player, and it was really an eye opener. You think you can play in the NHL and realize that you have a lot of work to do to be able to catch up with these guys.” His parents came down to visit him, and they went fishing on Lake Michigan. “I was definitely living the high life. It’s something I look forward to telling my kids about.”

After four years in junior hockey, which saw him play in Owen Sound as well as a brief stint with the Mississauga Ice Dogs his final stop was a triumphant return to his hometown Sudbury Wolves. It was “pretty cool, playing for a team you grew up watching, wishing you were one of those guys. I got to be one of those guys. I knew so many people in the stands.” After his overage season, a lot of schools were trying to get him, but he opted to take the year off.

“Last year was one of the most important years of my life. I took the year off to coach a minor peewee AAA team, and I got to give back to kids what I learned. I got talking with the coach from Laurier, and I practised there, and wanted to play again. Coaching those kids made me realize that I still had it in me to play.”

He said that before he came here, he had heard about the quality of hockey. And when he got here? “It’s pretty damn good. The quality is similar to the OHL, and the speed is faster. Coaches aren’t recruiting fourth liners here. You have to be skilled.” As for his roll on the team, he’s been on a checking type line. “We have the responsibility of putting pressure on the other team’s top line, and not getting goals scored on us.” He also said that he has to be a leader “in terms of going out there after a goal is scored [against us]. We have to get the guys pumped up so we can turn the game around.” The biggest challenge he has faced is “not being able to drop the gloves.” Apparently, the no-fight rule “creates more havoc in the fact that you can’t send a message to someone not to do something again, like run the goalie.” Trevor has never been shy to get his hands dirty and “it’s a bit of an adjustment. I find there is a lack of respect.”

He would compare his style of play to NHLer Kris Draper. “I take pride in the defensive side of my play. I like the rough stuff, and I don’t mind taking a beating in front the net to get that goal.”

He says his years in the OHL are helping him right now with his time management skills. After transferring courses he took at Laurentian last year, he is now a double-major in Economics and Leisure Science. “I try not to let my work pile up,” he says.

What does he do in his spare time? “I don’t have any,” he says with a laugh. “I like hanging out with my buddies. I love fishing, it’s a great chance to get away.” He also plays baseball and has recently started playing a lot of tennis.

“Blanch” is currently enjoying living large in Montr

Related Posts