GUELPH POLITICAST #292 - Saxon on Storm on Podcast

This year is the 30th season of the Guelph Storm, the local OHL hockey franchise who won the J. Ross Robertson Cup in 2019, and are technically still the undefeated champions of the Ontario Hockey League. But 18 months in this league is a life time, and as we enter the first OHL regular season play in over 18 months, we ask a Storm expert to talk about what it's all going to look like.

When the Guelph Storm joined the rest of the world in lockdown in mid-March 2020, they had a record of 32 wins and 23 loses. They were third in the Midwest division, and were assured a playoff spot, but they were in sixth place in the Western conference. The possibility of another Storm championship was not impossible, and indeed they came from fourth place in the West to take the championship in 2019, but it was probably going to be an uphill climb for the team.

Winning an OHL championship is relatively easy when compared to the hoops in front of the league to return to play during the pandemic era. Every time the OHL got close to a deal, the COVID case count got worse, and the start of the season was delayed again until it was ultimately cancelled altogether. But now the time has come for the Storm to take to the ice again for their first regular season game this weekend. So what are the team's chances? If you’re interested, then this is the podcast for you.

This week, we're joined by Guelph Today's Tony Saxon who has covered the Guelph Storm for more than 15 years. He will talk about how the team has changed in the last 18 months, the changes in the back office in the last few weeks, and, most importantly, their odds for the coming season. Saxon will also talk about his history covering the Storm, staying in touch with players despite COVID restrictions, and how he keeps his journalistic objectivity when covering the hometown team.

So let's get into some Storm tracking on this week's Guelph Politicast!

You can read Saxon’s coverage of the Guelph Storm on Guelph Today, and you can also follow him on Twitter. The first home game of the season is this weekend, Saturday October 9 at 7 pm, the second part of a two-part season opening face-off against the Kitchener Rangers. You can find the full schedule for the Guelph Storm and links to tickets here.

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