Hayton set for bigger role in second year

The new Ontario Hockey League season is approaching and for Soo Greyhounds forward Barrett Hayton, a new season means new responsibilities.

The 17-year-old feels like the expectations are high for both himself and a Greyhounds team that finished in top spot in the OHL’s West Division last season.

“This is a big year,” Hayton said. “As a team, we have high expectations as well to take a run at (a championship). Personally, I’m really looking to be a leader this year.”

“I’ve really been working on all aspects of my game, but my skating specifically, I definitely put a lot of work into that and improving my stride and overall speed,” Hayton also said. “I’ve definitely seen big improvements in that. “

Hayton is coming off a rookie season that saw him score nine times and finish with 27 points in 59 games while adding two goals in nine playoff games. Things are only expected to get better for the young centre in year two.

“We have big expectations for Barrett,” said Greyhounds General Manager Kyle Raftis. “(At the end of the season) he was taking a big role before he got hurt. He was playing big minutes for us and it was something with our forward group coming back and who graduated, there’s a big opportunity for him.

“We have expectations that he’s going to take on more of a leadership role on the ice and off the ice and take his game to another level,” Raftis added. “That’s what we need and that’s what he’s capable of.”

Hayton will step into the Greyhounds training camp next week on the heels of a gold medal performance with the Canadian Under-18 team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial earlier this month, held in Breclav, Czech Republic and Bratislava, Slovakia.

“It was incredible,” Hayton said of the experience. “It was my first time going overseas so being in Europe was definitely really cool. Being able to accomplish our goal; of winning gold was definitely the best part and what made it so special.”

Hayton finished the tournament with three goals and six points in five games and called it a learning experience.

“You learn a lot about what it takes to win,” Hayton said. “Especially at the international level with how tight the competition is. You learn a lot about what it takes for a team to come together, especially in the short period of time you have together.”

“He’s a motivated individual,” said Raftis. “It’s great to see him get the recognition on the world stage. Sometimes when you’re a young player in the OHL, especially playing with the forward group we had last year, there might not have been the same type of hype building for Barrett. It was really cool to see him get on that stage and get a little bit of that recognition.”

Hayton was joined on the Canadian team by Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister.

“That was definitely a special part of it,” Hayton said. “Being able to represent not only our country but the Soo Greyhounds, that was also a very special part of it.”

Hayton will be among the roughly 50 players attending the Greyhounds training camp, set to open on Aug. 29.