Patience, process emphasized as key prospects gain repetitions in Ontario – including Byfield, who missed time with Covid, per his coach

Last updated Unknown Edit Source

• News post

• Jon Rosen

The Ontario Reign have been a streaky group of late. Sunday’s 3-2 home win over Henderson snapped a five-game losing streak (0-4-1), which itself had followed a six-game winning streak. In third place with an 8-5-1 record, the Reign continue a seven-game home stand that wraps around the Thanksgiving holiday with games Wednesday against San Jose and Saturday and Sunday against Tucson. Discussion of AHL-ineligible CHL players being sent to the AHL for conditioning assignments.

• Brandt Clarke
• Alex Turcotte
• Quinton Byfield

• Marco Sturm

# Marco Sturm

It was a big win for us. We needed it. I think guys were starting to squeeze their sticks a little bit, which is normal. I think we had a really good start, probably better than we should have, and then it went the other way, so we had to find something in between, and that’s what we’re working on every day.

Can [Brandt Clarke] play in every league? Absolutely. He’s shown it already. Now, he has to figure it out – how to play, and how to be consistent, as well. So, he has some good periods, some average periods, but he can be the best. He’s still trying to figure it out, but he’s a really interesting guy.

[Quinton Byfield] came in really strong this year. He showed it in our rookie tournament. He was by far the best player. He played a really good solid few games with the Kings [in the rookie tournament and preseason], and obviously and unfortunately he got covid. He battled back, it took him a while, and then he got sick again and he lost a lot of weight. Now, we need that same Q we had in August and September. Is he there yet? No, he isn’t, but again, he’s another guy that we have to be patient with and we have to work with. Seeing Q this week and a week ago or two weeks ago, it was totally different, too. He needs to work on his game. He’s not there yet, but he’s definitely heading in the right direction.

[Quinton Byfield] has to keep it more simple, use his speed, his size. Use his name, too. I think in September he wanted to be ‘the guy,’ he wanted to be the difference and now he needs that same thing, same mentality coming back. But again, physically he was not there with his illness, and slowly it’s coming back.

It’s work in progress with [Alex Turcotte]. He’s been out for a long time. We have to be patient. We also have to push him, though. He’s really working hard every day. But again, I think it needs more time. We’re all here to try to help him. IO think he’s getting better every week, and now we have to build on that.

I think the work comes back right away. [Alex Turcotte]’s in good shape … so I think the conditioning, it’s there. I think it’s the rhythm, feeling the puck, using your partners, getting to know the system again. There’s a lot of things in his head right now, and now he just has to relax a little bit too and be a little bit smarter and think the game a little bit more, too. Right now, he wants to do everything at once, and it doesn’t work. He wants to please everyone and himself, too. So, he also has to be patient.