nivek_wahs
09-27-2007, 08:17 AM
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=a5259a72-93ea-4641-8400-2534f77e38e7&k=43490
Gross fitting in nicely
Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Thursday, September 27, 2007
Cody Gross didn't have much time to reconcile his loyalties.
The 18-year-old centre enjoyed a successful regular-season debut with the Regina Pats on the weekend, surviving an uneasy reunion with his old team by collecting one goal and one assist in a pair of wins over the Prince Albert Raiders.
"It was exciting but it was a little bit weird rolling into town, seeing old faces and friends," said the Winnipeg native, who spent last season -- his first in the WHL -- with Prince Albert. "Playing against your old team and against your buddies, it's a little tough, but it's a business and that's the way it goes. I was nervous, but I battled through it and we played well."
Gross was acquired in the offseason from the Edmonton Oil Kings for backup goaltender Tommy Tartaglione. Gross had been picked up by Edmonton in the expansion draft.
A sniper in his midget days, Gross was used mainly in a fourth-line role last season with Prince Albert, recording six goals and five assists in 55 games.
"Last year was a bit of a battle to earn my keep in P.A.," he said. "It's an honour to be where I am right now."
After a slow start in training camp with the Pats, Gross's untapped potential began to emerge in the preseason when he recorded a team-high seven points. It also translated into a modestly productive start to the regular season.
"There's still a mile for him to go, too," noted Pats head coach Curtis Hunt, whose team plays host to the Red Deer Rebels on Friday. "His upside is tremendous. Right now he's centring (Michael) MacAngus and (Jordan) Eberle, which is a tough place to go because they read off each other so incredibly well. He's still trying to find that groove and trying to find where to go and how to play. But we're really pleased with how that turned out. Hats off to (GM) Brent (Parker) and the scouting staff for recognizing that (potential) and getting him on board."
Gross recorded an assist in Friday's 4-2 win in Prince Albert, then potted his first goal during Sunday's home-opener, a 5-1 victory. He nearly added a second goal when an innocent shoot-in bounced past goalie Dustin Butler, but the Pats were ruled offside, negating the marker.
The emergence of Gross could be a significant bonus for the Pats, who have been trying to find internal replacements for their top two centres from last season, Kyle Ross and Garrett Festerling.
So far, so good.
"I haven't really looked at it as pressure," Gross said of filling a top-line role. "I'm sure any of our other centremen could be there but that's just the way it happened. We have a lot of good centremen here. I'm just happy to be playing where I am."
The line of MacAngus-Gross-Eberle was Regina's most-productive unit on the weekend, netting four goals and four assists in two games. Despite having drastically different styles, the trio seems to complement each other, with Gross providing the speed, Eberle the finesse and MacAngus the grit.
"It's an honour to be with those two players," added Gross. "In practice we've been playing really well together and things have been happening for us. Hopefully it keeps going and we stay together, but it's a long season. Hopefully we keep clicking."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007
Gross fitting in nicely
Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Thursday, September 27, 2007
Cody Gross didn't have much time to reconcile his loyalties.
The 18-year-old centre enjoyed a successful regular-season debut with the Regina Pats on the weekend, surviving an uneasy reunion with his old team by collecting one goal and one assist in a pair of wins over the Prince Albert Raiders.
"It was exciting but it was a little bit weird rolling into town, seeing old faces and friends," said the Winnipeg native, who spent last season -- his first in the WHL -- with Prince Albert. "Playing against your old team and against your buddies, it's a little tough, but it's a business and that's the way it goes. I was nervous, but I battled through it and we played well."
Gross was acquired in the offseason from the Edmonton Oil Kings for backup goaltender Tommy Tartaglione. Gross had been picked up by Edmonton in the expansion draft.
A sniper in his midget days, Gross was used mainly in a fourth-line role last season with Prince Albert, recording six goals and five assists in 55 games.
"Last year was a bit of a battle to earn my keep in P.A.," he said. "It's an honour to be where I am right now."
After a slow start in training camp with the Pats, Gross's untapped potential began to emerge in the preseason when he recorded a team-high seven points. It also translated into a modestly productive start to the regular season.
"There's still a mile for him to go, too," noted Pats head coach Curtis Hunt, whose team plays host to the Red Deer Rebels on Friday. "His upside is tremendous. Right now he's centring (Michael) MacAngus and (Jordan) Eberle, which is a tough place to go because they read off each other so incredibly well. He's still trying to find that groove and trying to find where to go and how to play. But we're really pleased with how that turned out. Hats off to (GM) Brent (Parker) and the scouting staff for recognizing that (potential) and getting him on board."
Gross recorded an assist in Friday's 4-2 win in Prince Albert, then potted his first goal during Sunday's home-opener, a 5-1 victory. He nearly added a second goal when an innocent shoot-in bounced past goalie Dustin Butler, but the Pats were ruled offside, negating the marker.
The emergence of Gross could be a significant bonus for the Pats, who have been trying to find internal replacements for their top two centres from last season, Kyle Ross and Garrett Festerling.
So far, so good.
"I haven't really looked at it as pressure," Gross said of filling a top-line role. "I'm sure any of our other centremen could be there but that's just the way it happened. We have a lot of good centremen here. I'm just happy to be playing where I am."
The line of MacAngus-Gross-Eberle was Regina's most-productive unit on the weekend, netting four goals and four assists in two games. Despite having drastically different styles, the trio seems to complement each other, with Gross providing the speed, Eberle the finesse and MacAngus the grit.
"It's an honour to be with those two players," added Gross. "In practice we've been playing really well together and things have been happening for us. Hopefully it keeps going and we stay together, but it's a long season. Hopefully we keep clicking."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007