Toms in training with T-Birds


By
October 22, 2020
Connor Toms

He has the ‘natural athlete’ bloodlines from the Pettenuzzo side of his mom’s family.

And his dad is a very driven individual who went from being a 13th round draft pick to become an Ontario Hockey League star and from being a ninth round draft pick to play in more than 235 games in the National Hockey League.

A budding prospect and a good athlete in his own right as a third round pick of the Soo Greyhounds at the 2020 OHL priority selections draft, 2004 birth year defenseman Connor Toms is currently skating with the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.

As he trains and takes part in skill sessions with the Jr. A Thunderbirds, Toms is seen as a sure fire, future OHLer with the Greyhounds, given that they used a third round pick on the homegrown youngster, a medium sized defender who has what the scouts and coaches call a “high hockey IQ.”

To be sure, Toms is in good hands with the Thunderbirds, who are coached by former NHL journeyman winger Denny Lambert, who also played in the OHL for the Greyhounds and was both assistant coach and head coach with them for eight seasons.

And as an added bonus, Toms gets to be tutored by Thunderbirds assistant coach Aidan Wright, who played four full seasons as a steady defenseman with the Division 1, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Lake Superior State Lakers.

Meanwhile, besides skating and practicing with the Thunderbirds ahead of the 2020-2021 NOJHL season, Toms is running the local hub trails and working out in the basement gym of his family’s Sault Ste. Marie home.

“I run every day and and work out in the gym that my dad built,” Toms relayed. “And I study a lot of film from the Greyhound games that my dad recorded during the (2019-2020) season.

“Once (training) camp opens with the Greyhounds, I want to be as ready and prepared as I can be,” added the friendly, personable Toms, who just turned 16 years of age on March 13 of this year.

As previously noted, young Toms is not short on pure athletic genes.

His maternal grandfather, the late Reno Pettenuzzo, is a legendary former pitcher who was one of the best fastball players in all of Canada. And his mom, Tasha, was an outstanding, multi sport, high school athlete at Bawating Collegiate who went on to participate at the university level.

Then there is his dad, Jeff Toms, who as a hulking left winger, played three full seasons in the OHL with the Greyhounds after being a 13th-round draft pick.

Jeff Toms, during his NHL playing days

A classic overachiever, the elder Toms was a member of the Greyhounds 1993 Memorial Cup championship team before ending his OHL career in superb style during the 1993-1994 season with 52 goals, 45 assists, 97 points.

He then became a ninth-round draft pick to the NHL and went on to play in more than 235 games in the ‘Show’ before embarking on an eight year pro career in the Swiss elite league. Jeff’s determination showed further when, after retiring from pro hockey at age 36, he took all the courses needed to become a fire fighter and is now employed by the Sault Ste. Marie Fire Department.

As for Connor, who netted nine goals, 17 assists, 26 points in 38 regular season games for the Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North Midget Hockey League in 2019-2020, his coach from the past season has plenty good to say about the young defender as he readies for his first season of junior hockey.

“Connor has put in a lot of time to develop his craft both on and off the ice since he was a young player. He is a real student of the game and his skill set should definitely flourish at the NOJHL and OHL levels as his all around game continues to mature,” Jr. Greyhounds coach Jamie Henderson said of young Toms.


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