Local product Ken Appleby returns to Memorial Gardens with his flawless record in tow. PHOTO COURTESY DENIS DUBOIS.
You may not realize but Kenny Appleby is becoming one of the most dominant major junior players North Bay has produced in at least a couple decades.
The former NDA Chippewa Raiders and North Bay Midget AAA Trappers netminder leads almost every goaltending category early in this OHL season as the #7 ranked Oshawa Generals visit Memorial Gardens on Thursday night.
Appleby has started the year with 9 straight wins, a .937 save percentage and a stellar 1.67 goals against average.
That's tops in all 3 OHL goaltending categories.
“I think it's a great start that not only myself but mostly our team has got off to so far,” Appleby BayToday.ca on Wednesday night about the 9-1-1 Generals.
“The guys have done a great job in front of me by blocking shots, playing great defence and making my job easy so that has been a big part of our start so far.”
Appleby, who was overlooked in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, received free agent invites to both the Arizona Coyotes and the Chicago Blackhawks summer training camps.
The 6’4”, 205 pound goaltender still has something to prove Thursday against the Battalion.
Appleby felt a need to apologize to his teammates and fans on twitter after Jamie Lewis beat him with a shot that broke a 2-2 tie in game 4 and allowed the Battalion to complete a 4-game sweep of the Generals in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The game 4 loss was his only start against the Battalion in the series.
“I think everyone is excited and ready for tomorrow especially the returning guys from last year who went through that playoff series last year,” said Appleby.
“I think there is that little bit of extra motivation however we also know that this is a new season and this is another game we need to be ready for.”
