A Steady Force

by Matthew Ondesko, Associate Editor

You don’t really notice him on the ice, but yet he makes all the plays that he is supposed to.

You never really see him get out of position and you very really see him get yelled at on the bench.

But, the one thing you do notice from Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School junior defenseman Sam Connors is that he is a leader on the backend. And, he has to be because he is helping to break in two sophomores and at times is paired up with one of them throughout the game.

“He is a leader back there. He is a vocal leader,” said Timon coach Pat Fisher. “He is very steady, very patient. He settles things down.”

His play on and off the ice is one reason why he was named an assistant captain as a junior.

And, don’t think Connors doesn’t take being an assistant captain seriously. He is probably one of the most vocal players, along with captain Justin LaRusch, in the locker room and on the bench.

He is the first one to pick up his defensemen if they had a bad shift and he is the first one to give them credit after a nice play.

“Once you get a letter you know that you are a leader and that you have to step up,” stated Connors after a recent game. “Whether you are a junior, senior or sophomore you have to go out there and play your game.”

Stepping up and playing his game is something Connors has done since stepping onto the ice at Timon as a freshman. Each year the young man has gotten better and each year Fisher and his staff have given him more responsibility.

“Penalty kill, power play, he does it all,” stated Fisher. He is extremely important to our team and to the success of our team.”

While some may crack under the pressures, Connors has taken those responsibilities and run with it – like helping out the sophomores who are in their first year of varsity.”

“You just have to encourage them. They obviously are going to make mistakes,” stated Connors. “You just have to keep them encouraged. Keep their hopes up. Don’t let them get to down on themselves.”

While Connors likes to help out the younger kids, he is still trying to improve on his game as well. The junior knows that to get to the next level he still has some things he needs to improve, whether it’s in his own end defensively or offensively on the power play or joining the rush.

“I am definitely a defensive defenseman,” he stated. “But, whenever I can help out on the offense I like to. Just get some points out there.”

Fisher sees Connors as a smart defenseman and one that will always make the right play at the right time.

“He can make plays with his feet out of our own zone,” explained Fisher. “Sometimes when they are pressuring you on the fore check the right thing to do is skate away from pressure, skate out of pressure and Sam does a good job of doing that. And if he doesn’t have an option then he is smart enough to chip the puck off the glass and live to fight another day.”

Connors has the tools to play the game at the college level. If he keeps developing like he has the last three years then the sky is the limit for this young man.