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Call us today for a FREE consultation. 905.337.9568 Kyle Potts admits he was a littleKyle Potts admits he was a littleK discouraged when he found out he was being put on waivers by the North Bay Battalion in October. The Oakville native was a fifth round pick by the Battalion in 2015 and went on to play 193 games with the OHL team. But with North Bay looking to shore up its blueline, eventually acquiring defenceman Theo Calvas, the team needed to free up one of its overage spots and Potts was caught in the numbers game. Though it was still early enough in the season for Potts to enroll at the University of Toronto, he opted for an opportunity closer to home.for an opportunity closer to home.f "Initially I was disappointed," he said. "But I knew the Blades had a good team, so I was excited about the chance to go on a lengthy play- off run. Every kid growing up in the (Oakville) Rangers organization idolizes the Blades, so it was impor- tant for me to come here and try to put a banner up in my hometown." Potts and his teammates wouldn't settle for just one banner, though. They would win the Blades' third Buckland Cup as On- tario Junior Hockey League cham- pions and follow that with the Cen- tral Canadian title, the Dudley He- witt Cup. As for a lengthy playoff run, Oakville played in the second last Jr. A game in the country this sea- son. Only a narrow 2-1 loss to Brit- ish Columbia's Prince George Spruce Kings kept them from play- ing in the final one. And though they didn't reach their ultimate goal of playing for the national championship, it couldn't diminish what they achieved. "We accomplished something special," said Potts, who had 30 goals and 61 points in 61 games with the Blades. "We left it all on the ice and that's all you could ask for." Like Potts' season, the Blades' national championship tourna- ment didn't start as they hoped. Five first-period goals carried the Brooks Bandits, the host and even- tual champion, to a 7-3 win in the Blades' opener, followed by a 5-1 loss to Prince George. "In Ontario, nobody could match our speed," Potts said. "There everyone was on par, maybe even a little faster. It was a different style of play and it took us those first couple of games to adjust andfirst couple of games to adjust andf change our game plan to manage teams better." Oakville bounced back, though. Spencer Kersten's four-point game led the Blades to a 5-4 win over the Portage Terriers and a hat trick by Peyton Reeves and Potts' goal and two assists paced a 7-4 win over the Ottawa Jr. Senators. That set up a semifinal rematch with Prince George. After 35 score- less minutes, the teams traded goals three goals in a span of 1:45. The Spruce Kings took a 2-1 lead into the third but were handed a five-minute kneeing major early infive-minute kneeing major early inf the period. Oakville swarmed the Prince George net, and continued to do so for the rest of the period, but couldn't get the equalizer. "The five-minute penalty, we got a break, but you have to give them credit," Potts said. "We had 18, 20 shots on them and their goalie (Lo- gan Neaton) stood on his head and slammed the door on us." The Blades earned their way to nationals with a 2-0 win over the Hearst Lumberjacks in the Dudley Hewitt Cup final. But Potts pointed to a game six weeks earlier when Ryan Nicholson scored in overtimeRyan Nicholson scored in overtimeR against Buffalo - remarkably their only overtime game in 28 post-sea- son contests - as a pivotal moment in the Blades' 11-week playoff run. "The Dudley Hewitt final was an intense game and winning that was an emotional high," said the six- foot-four centre, "but that OT winfoot-four centre, "but that OT winf really swung the momentum in that series. That really started our run to nationals. It was an exhila- rating moment." The Blades would provide many of them in the most successful sea- son in their 52-year history. Potts said that was a product of a team working together to achieve theirworking together to achieve theirw goals. "Everyone left their egos at the door. We realized we were better as one than as 20 individuals," he said. "We realized we had a chance to do something special." BLADES REACH NATIONAL SEMIFINALS IN SPECIAL SEASON Kyle Potts helped his hometown Oakville Blades reach the national semifinal, where they were edged 2-1 by the Prince George Spruce Kings. Christian Bender HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com COMMUNITY SEASON THAT BEGAN WITH DISAPPOINTMENT TURNS INTO BANNER YEAR FOR POTTS