Caron keen on overage option
He is a late bloomer who was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League a year after his 1996 birth-date class — and he has aspirations of playing as an overage forward for the 2016-2017 season.
On the road to being fully healthy after having successful shoulder surgery in early May, Cody Caron wants to play a final season in the OHL — and he hopes it is with the Kingston Frontenacs.
A shutdown-style winger known for his work in the corners and dedication to playing what is called the 200-foot game, Caron has toughed it out to skate in 190 contests, regular season and playoffs included, since the Niagara IceDogs made him a seventh-round pick at the 2013 OHL draft.
A noted goal-scorer during the 2012-2013 season when he tallied 35 times in 40 games at the major midget level in Sault Ste. Marie, Caron has yet to bring that touch to the OHL.
But despite having scored only nine goals in three full OHL seasons — he had five with Kingston in 2015-2016 — Caron thinks he is capable of being more of a lamp-lighter.
“I think I can be a 20-goal scorer in the OHL and still play the same all-round game,” Caron told HockeyNewsNorth.com. “The scoring is there…it just needs to come out.”
Having dislocated his shoulder twice during the ’15-16 season and continuing to play while not fully healthy certainly hindered Caron’s offensive game. Thus, the likeable, down-to-earth 20-year old is anxiously awaiting the ’16-17 season.
“I definitely want to play as an overage and my first choice would be to stay in Kingston,” Caron related. “I had a good exit interview with the coaches (Paul McFarland and John Goodwin) and it looks as though I am going back.
“Nothing is ever 100 per cent but I want to play as an over-ager and if not in Kingston then hopefully somewhere else,” added Caron, who is taking on-line courses towards a university degree.
With good size at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds and praise from his Kingston coaches as an ultimate team player and character individual, Caron has confidence that he can play a key role in ’16-17 on a Frontenacs squad that finished first in the Eastern Conference in ’15-16 only to lose to Niagara in the second round of the playoffs.
“We have a lot of guys who are moving on and signing pro contracts and we will definitely be a younger team next season,” Caron noted. “Definitely, I want to go back and be a leader in Kingston.”
Meantime, as Caron rehabilitates his surgically-repaired shoulder, he is scheduled to soon return to his summer job at Sault Golf Club where assistant superintendent Kyle Whitehead describes the OHL forward as a “really good worker and a great kid.”
Then, in a few months, it will be back to Kingston where the plan will be to secure one of three overage spots on the Frontenacs.
Caron said he likes playing for aforementioned coaches McFarland and Goodwin.
“They are great guys and great coaches,” Caron said of the pair. “They have both helped me a lot with my game. They are easy to talk and really helpful.”
PHOTO: Cody Caron, in action with the Kingston Frontenacs. (Photo by Ali Pearson.)