James McEwan Battling Back In Rookie Season
Chatham’s James McEwan has battled through injury to find his stride in his rookie OHL campaign with the Guelph Storm – Photo by Aaron Bell/ OHL Images
“My OHL campaign so far has been incredible,” said McEwan. Obviously with my ankle injury I did miss a lot of time but that’s not taking away the amount of fun I’ve had and things I’ve learned so far. My teammates are first class, especially with a few of them being drafted to the NHL, I’ve been able to pick up some good habits to get into to doing to help my game be better and also just watching how they carry themselves.”
James McEwan was drafted by the Storm in 2013 in the 9th round of the OHL draft. A rare pick selected that late in the draft to be immediately signed, McEwan got a taste of the OHL last year, playing 4 games on a call up from the Junior B Chatham Maroons, but it wasn’t until this year that the Chatham-Kent Cyclones grabbed a full time roster spot.
Wanting to show the offensive capabilities he highlighted in Junior B scoring 15 goals as a 16-year-old rookie, McEwan limped out of the gate, literally, suffering a high ankle sprain.
“With the high ankle sprain, it certainly caught me by surprise,” said of his injury. “This was the first real injury I’ve ever had in my career where I haven’t played through it somehow. Being told your not going to play for 6-8 weeks is pretty hard to swallow, so it was important that I thought about the positives.”
When he returned to full steam, McEwan began producing, collecting his first string of OHL points, including a 3 game point streak in early January, before tweaking his ankle yet again.
Despite the multiple set backs McEwan has faced, he’s fought through the adversity, and proved he belongs in the OHL, and that he’ll be a valuable asset for the Guelph Storm in the coming seasons.
“The key to my success has definitely been maintaining a positive outlook, and being confident with myself and my game,” says McEwan of his season. “This allows me to be calm, cool, and collected on the ice so I’m not thinking too much and everything comes more naturally. I’ve gotten the opportunity to play and get more ice time with some injuries in our lineup so it’s important that I do my best to fill the roles of those players who are absent.”
Hopefully for McEwan, and for the Guelph Storm, he isn’t one of the absent players much longer.