Cam Allen is aiming to be the first defenseman selected at the 2023 National Hockey League draft.
“That’s something I’m really striving for,” the Guelph Storm blueliner said. “It would mean a lot. It would be an honor… It would be nice to start the next step of my career in that way. It’d definitely be a special thing, but also just a starting step.”
Allen took a big step towards that goal last season. He produced 37 points in 65 games en route to being named the Ontario Hockey League’s rookie of the year. The 17-year-old from Toronto, who stands 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, has a good idea of how he can build on that strong campaign.
“It’s the little things, positioning and stuff, that really does make a huge difference,” he said. “The small things, right now, will help me succeed the most this season. It’s a lot of video work and it’s also watching a lot of NHLers, because they do it best.”
During a conversation with TSN, Allen explained why the Montreal Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher is his favorite player. He also detailed his most important leadership moment during the Hlinka Gretzky Cup this summer in Red Deer, Alta. where he wore the ‘C’ for Team Canada. The following is an edited transcript of the interview.
Who is your favorite NHL player to watch?
“Well, I mean, for a defenseman it has to be Cale Makar. I always grew up a Brendan Gallagher fan because I love the way he plays but, for my game, personally, I have to go with Cale Makar. He’s so smooth and so poised.”
What stands out the most when you watch Makar?
“It seems like he’s always got everything under control. He never looks like he’s working too hard, but you can tell he’s doing everything at a high speed. The way he can trick defenders into thinking one thing and then doing the other, it’s really impressive.”
What do you appreciate about Gallagher’s game?
“I love the way he works. He’s just one of those guys who has such a visible work ethic. I always loved the way he worked for the team and you could just see he would do anything to win and anything for his teammates. love that.”
You scored 13 goals last season. What allowed you to generate so much offense?
“I got the chance to work on the power play a lot so a lot of goals came from there. I worked really well with my young D partner Michael Buchinger as well. He helped set me up a lot of the time. The chances came and you can’t force it too much. It’s more about letting the game come to you and not looking to get points. All the points come when you’re not expecting it or not really going for it, so to speak. It’s more natural and comes with the flow of the game.”
The Storm tweeted out a goal you scored Dec. 10th against Saginaw. A shot from the point through traffic. Apparently your favorite goal of the year. Why?
“Mostly because it was a huge goal for our team [sparking a comeback win from 3-0 down], but as a defenseman it’s not easy to get pucks through from out there, especially when you’re not in the middle of the ice. I was more to the right side of the ice there. That’s something I tried to perfect in my game is getting pucks in from the point and it’s a difficult to master. It was a huge goal for our team as well so, yeah, definitely my favorite from last season.”
Gordie Howe hat tricks are becoming rarer and rarer these days. What was it like to record a goal, assist and fight on Feb. 25 against Windsor?
“At the time I didn’t even know I got it. I wasn’t really thinking about that. There’s so many emotions in the game. The first thing I got was the fight. After that sometimes it’s hard to get your mind back in the game so, for me, that’s what stood out. I was able to get my mind back at ease and focus on the game ahead of me.”
What led to the fight with James Jodoin?
“Sometimes on the bench I’m not very happy with my game and over the years I’ve been able to use that anger to drive my game… We weren’t playing well at that point. It was in the first period and we were down 1-0 and then Ryan McGuire fought on our team and then in the corner a guy wanted to fight so I dropped the gloves. It wasn’t my greatest fight, but it did boost our team. We ended up winning. and I don’t think they scored another goal after that. Looking back at it, I mean, was it worth it? I’d say so. It’s about the moment and pent up anger and aggression.”
Where does your competitiveness come from?
“I’ve always been really competitive in anything I do even in gym class. You can ask some of my classmates, they’ll get a good laugh out of that. Everything I do I want to win. There’s definitely pros and cons to that, but when it comes to hockey it’s definitely helped me. A lot of it is being able to handle the anger that happens on the ice and the different emotions. I have grown a lot in that way, but there’s always room for improvement. It does help me in a lot of ways when you do have that passion, which might come from anger or whatever you want to call it. There are huge advantages to it in the game.”
You captained Team Canada to a gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. What did you take from that experience?
“It was an incredible experience playing with the best guys in Canada. It’s just an unbelievable feeling. There’s so many leaders in the room that it didn’t make my job too hard as captain. I got to play my game and say a few words here and there. There’s so many guys in there who want to win just as badly as I do and will do anything to win so you don’t need to tell those guys to work hard or pick up the pace because they’re always playing at the highest pace they can. I learned a lot. Great coaches and great teammates and it was really cool playing teams from other counties and playing internationally. That was my first experience with that so I took a lot away from the different styles of game that there were.”
What was your best leadership moment at the tournament?
“It’s always when your team’s not playing very well… it’s just getting the guys back levelheaded. You have a bad period, but it doesn’t mean that you’re going to lose. You don’t want to try and make up for what happened, you just want to get back to where you were. Just forget about that period and come back working as hard as you can, playing as a team and doing what we know we could.”
When did you speak up with that message?
“Against Sweden [in the gold-medal game], it was the first time when we were tied in a game other than at 0-0. As much as we had the game under control, maybe some guys were feeling a little uneasy after the first period. It’s just saying, ‘We’re the better team. We know we are. We beat them previously in the tournament and there’s no one that’s more ready for this moment than we are.’ We went into the second period with that mindset, played with a lot of confidence and took over.”
You’re a Toronto kid, but cheer for the Canadiens. How’d that happen?
“My grandfather is from Montreal so my grandparents on my mom’s side got me on Montreal pretty early. On my dad’s side, they’re not too happy about it because they’re all Leafs fans. I used to really despise the Leafs but now , being from Toronto, I’ve learned to have a little soft spot for the Leafs. I’ll cheer for them once Montreal is out, but when they go head to head I’m always going for the Habs.”
What was the playoff series like in 2021?
“I was so happy. There was no better feeling than when Montreal won that. That was probably one of the highlights of my life, to be honest.”