With a red-hot goaltender and four London Knights draft picks on the roster, the St. Thomas Stars are off to an 8-1 start. Goaltender Dylan Durno said he cannot remember a stretch in which he has played as well as he is now. The reigning GOHL goalie of the month is 8-0 this season with a 1.48 goals-against average. “I think it’s just starts in practice and then competing with these boys out here, it just makes you better than it transitions to the game,” said Durno a London, Ont. native in his second season with the Stars. It’s been so long since they’ve had a start like this, the league’s website doesn’t even go back that far. Practices at the Joe Thornton Community Centre in St. Thomas look a little different these days. The second-place Stars are young, fast and full of confidence. “They bring a lot of talent, they bring some jump and they bring some pep,” said head coach Jason Williams. This season, the club has expanded its partnership with the London Knights. London rookies Ryan Beaulieu, Ryker Kesler and Graham Littlejohn are all playing for the Stars and injured goalie Charlie Weiss will also play. “We’ve always felt that it’s best for their development if they’re not going to get the amount of minutes needed here with us, especially if our team is a good team or depending where our team is year to year, that they can go down there and hopefully push to be one of the main guys on the power play, on the penalty kill and get a lot more minutes,” said Knights associate general manager Rob Simpson. “They’re also with us for practice and video and all the extra development off ice, but it’s shown it to be a really good blend between both leagues, and to be able to have that relationship with St. Thomas is a great thing. We also have a couple guys with the London Nationals and we have a player with Strathroy. All the junior B teams in the area are great to work with.” Beaulieu was London’s first round pick while Kesler was the second. Most teams don’t send high picks to development leagues, but London has a track record of success with this method. “There’s lots of guys like Jarred Woolley, Easton Cowan and my dad [Josh Beaulieu] just bunch of great hockey players who just developed here [in the GOHL] going into their draft year and it’s just a great spot to be,” said Beaulieu. “The main goal is next year being in our draft year, obviously I want to get drafted to NHL. So just to come here to develop and Graham and I were together last year too, so it’s just unreal.” Williams is thrilled to have these young talented players and understands his job is to get them back to the Ontario Hockey League “Sometimes this isn’t the spot where they want to necessarily be,” said Williams. “Actually being here, getting the minutes and getting the puck touches is so crucial for their development. [Knights owners] Mark [Hunter] and Dale [Hunter] have done this for years and have had a lot of success with moving players on to the NHL. I’m not going to question what they’re what they’re thinking but the fact that we get these guys, I’m excited.” The early season success is starting to create a buzz around the city, both for the fans and the players. “The guys are starting to get really close in the room and we’re starting to be with the fans more in the city and going out to events,” said Durno. “It’s been really good and super happy for this group of guys.” Simpson, who scouts many GOHL games understands that having high profile draft picks in the league can translate to more fans in the stands. “Their fans can come watch a first rounder, a second rounder, and Weiss was a pick a couple of years ago and Littlejohn this year,” said Simpson. “It’s always exciting when you can see players early and then you’ll see how they translate into the OHL.”
