NEWS

(pictured - Orangeville Flyers captain Peter Stepanis is finally tasting success with a playoff berth, leading by example, after two seasons without post-season action - photo credit:  Andy Corneau/OJHL Images)

After two full seasons with the Orangeville Flyers only brought him the taste of victory 17 times, captain Peter Stepanis was desperate to be on a winner. On a team loaded with rookies, Stepanis is the type of leader needed to coax the best out of everyone.

A shot-blocking extraordinaire who is a linch-pin on the Orangeville penalty kill. One who will never light up the scoresheet, Stepanis excels at the little things needed to help a team win. With an intense hustle, relentless work ethic and a willingness to do the tough jobs, Peter has shown an ability to lead the younger Flyers to new heights.

In the words of head coach Jamie Caruso he has taken on a big brother role with this team. An imporant job when there are 15 rookies on the Flyers. When you are thrown into the fire like that it is important to have a leader who has been to battle in the league before.

While wearing the 'C' this year, Stepanis along with the other veterans of the Flyers, have seen quite the turn-around in their fortunes. A 24-25-1-3 record heading into their final game of the regular season has the Flyers destined for their first playoff appearance in three years.

One of the things Stepanis attributes to the turn around is being positive. It is something he learned from his previous years with the Flyers.

“Everyone will face lows, you just have to stay positive. We are a young team. You just can't get down on yourself.”

Those may all seem like cliches, but this team hasn't fallen into deep holes like in years past. A perfect example of this is a recent losing streak the Flyers were on while on the cusp of a playoff birth. What once seemed like a sure thing looked like it may be slipping away. Unlike years past however the Flyers rebounded with two big wins, with the captain even scoring a crucial goal for the Flyers.

One benefit that Peter has had this season, that was originally hard to swallow, was time off the ice due to injury. Similiar to Hamilton captain Jason O'Connor last year, Peter missed a large chunk of this season due to injury. While some players would sulk and become frustrated at the situiation, Peter showed his great leadership skills by turning the negative into a positive.

It offered a unique perspective as he watched his younger teammates from above and in his words, “...allowed me to see the team from a different area and allow me to find ways to help the guys.”  From his perspective it allowed him to learn a lot from the team and find ways that he felt could help them reach now levels. For his game, the time away allowed him to work on some of his weaknesses, which is what happened, as Peter has come back stronger than ever.

It may not look like much of an impact when you look at his stats with only seven goals in his career, but watching one Orangeville game and you will see the impact that he has. This is a young and impressionable team that has a lot of skill. The intensity and work ethic that Stepanis brings to the table has rubbed off on his younger teammates as they have surprised many with their turnaround from 4 wins last year to 20 this year. Young stars like Smilsky, Da Silva, Barnes and Anton may get the headlines, but it is the play and leadership of the '94's like Stepanis that has allowed them to play like a veteran team in spite of their relative inexperience.

So at the end of my interveiw I asked Peter what kind of impression he would like to leave on the younger players in his final year.
“I just want to leave them with always work hard, you are always going to have ups and downs. Dont always stay in a rut and pick yourself back up. Everyone is on the team for a reason and stay positive.”

Things sure seemed bleak for the Flyers the last few years but the words out of Peter Stepanis's mouth couldn't be more true. It would have been easy for him to accept the losing culture of the team, after all, it is tough to get up game after game when you only win 17 games over two seasons.

Peter however stayed positive and made sure he and the rest of his teammates got out of that rut. It allowed him to turn the negative of his injury into a positive and allows him to be an example that his younger teammates can look up to.

The sweet isn't as sweet 'til you have tasted the sour, and Stepanis and the Flyers are finally enjoying some sweet. Just don't think they are satisfied, this will be a dangerous team come playoff time.

Peter Kneulman covers the OJHL West Division for In The O... and more articles by the author can be found at intheoradio.com. In The O...goes beyond conventional coverage of junior hockey providing unprecedented coverage of Minor Midget, OJHL, CCHL and the OHL.