After a press conference that turned viral following Monday’s Game 7 win against the Brantford Bulldogs, Dylan Smoskowitz, Barrie Colts head coach, came clean. “That one’s on me,” said Smoskowitz on TSN 1050 Overdrive. “That was a big oopsie and something that I’ll learn from.” Smoskowitz and the Colts defeated the Bulldogs 5-0 in the deciding game of the OHL Eastern Conference Final after erasing a 3-1 series deficit and losing one of their co-captains due to injury. But Smoskowitz and Kashawn Aitcheson, the team’s other co-captain and the OHL’s Defenceman of the Year, gave the same five-word answer to each question in the postgame press conference. “No one cares, work harder.” The 90 second presser went viral across social media on Tuesday, sparking polarizing reaction from the hockey world. When he joined TSN 1050 Tuesday afternoon, Smoskowitz shared his full story of what happened, which started with his idea to bring all Colts players into the media room for the press conference instead of just he and Aitcheson. “I thought it would be really cool to have all the guys in there with their hats on, their Eastern Conference Championship hats,” explained Smoskowitz. “The room was small, I was told it wasn’t going to work.” He then said he reacted by going ‘the other way with it.’ “It was a decision that I regret immediately. Took away from a really really good game and a really really good hockey series,” continued Smoskowitz. “You better believe it won’t happen again.” The OHL is expected to issue a response to the incident by Wednesday. Smoskowitz also said his co-captain was simply following his coach’s lead. “That was my lead. Kashawn Aitcheson took my lead. That’s something that I instructed him to do and the kid was just being a good soldier,” admitted Smoskowitz. “Nothing about this that has anything to do with Kashawn Aitcheson. He’s an outstanding human being. Everyone thinks he’s a great hockey player, which he is. But he’s a much better person even than a hockey player.” The Colts face off against the Rangers in Game 1 of the OHL Championship series in Kitchener Wednesday evening.
