The new record for the most games played by a member of Owen Sound’s Ontario Hockey League team is now held by the captain Keevin Cutting.
Cutting bypassed Marcus Carroll when he played his 313th game last Wednesday night against Guelph.
For Cutting the milestone is a tribute to a number of factors; the ability to play the game at the OHL level, the ability to stay healthy or persevere through pain, the ability to grow as a player and as a young man, maybe there was a touch of luck involved too.
Keevin Cutting caught our attention as an underage rookie who had come into the Attack training camp after a draft season that was cut short by a nasty leg injury that limited his playing time, and truthfully may have kept many OHL teams beyond Owen Sound from actually seeing him.
His rookie season went very well, although I distinctly remember the coaching staff of the day insisting that he become more accountable, or maybe more ” into ” hockey than his laid back manner exhibited in the day.
His second year was one to forget, and everybody will admit that.
To that end, when the 2010-11 season started, it was circulated that Keevin Cutting was expendable, especially on a deep Owen Sound blueline. If a trade was on the table, it was never consummated, and for the Attack that was good news as Cutting and partner Jay Gilbert were integral parts of Owen Sound’s championship season.
Two seasons later, Cutting is the captain of another deep Owen Sound blueline and with a month to go in the regular season, he’ll continue to pad his record setting numbers for the most games played in Owen Sound.
I’m Fred Wallace