Beacon Hill native awaits home debut for Ottawa 67’s

“He chose Dan Tessier because he was a small little guy like him,” Cowick recalls. “And I said, ‘When I get older, I want to be like No. 9, Matt Zultek.’ Eight months later, I was watching the Memorial Cup finals here and Zultek buried it in overtime.”

On the eve of his hometown team’s home opener this season, the Beacon Hill resident is dreaming about replicating some of the magic from the 1999 championship year. After two years with the Oshawa Generals, Cowick was traded to the 67’s this past summer and will suit up for his first home regular season game in black, white and red Friday, Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m.

“I can’t even count the number of games I’ve been here to watch the 67’s,” says Cowick, a hard-working, hard-hitting left-winger. “It’s so big in the community. Every kid who grows up in Ottawa knows the 67’s. You always dream about playing for them, but you never really think it’ll happen. Now that it’s here, I’m just trying to savour every moment.”

Soaking up each minute was the same approach Cowick had when he recently attended the Pittsburgh Penguins’ rookie camp, which included a week of workouts in Pittsburgh and a tournament against the rookies from the Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs in Kitchener.

Besides a nerve-wracking first day — Cowick had a five-hour layover in Washington en route to Pittsburgh and arrived only 50 minutes before his first on-ice session where he had to choke up on a stick that was three inches too long — the camp was a “really good experience” for the former Gloucester Rangers minor hockey player.

“Pittsburgh was kind of a tease for me. I was up there for a week, but it felt like a lot longer. They released me back to junior hockey and I kind of didn’t want to go,” Cowick says. “I’ve always wanted a career in hockey, and it was a big eye-opener to know I was that close.”

Being signed to an amateur contract by the Penguins was a big highlight of Cowick’s summer, but right up there with it was speaking on the phone while he was still in bed with the “winningest” coach in junior hockey, Brian Kilrea, for the first time.

“That was quite the wake-up call, that’s for sure,” Cowick laughs. “He said they were excited to have me, and I quickly came back with, ‘I don’t think you’re as excited as I am.’”

Kilrea sees Cowick playing “a big role” for the 67’s on the team’s top line alongside sniper Logan Couture.

“That’ll give us the big presence we need up front that we were lacking before,” says Kilrea, who presented Cowick as an assistant captain at Ottawa’s season-opening press conference, although he likely won’t keep the ‘A’ once all the team’s veterans return from NHL training camps.

“Corey’s a leader in the room, he’s well-respected and he’s such a happy kid. He comes to the rink every day with a smile on his face and just works. They’re the kind of guys that are infectious, so when they do it, somebody else does it,” Kilrea notes. “We were mad at ourselves for missing him in the draft to start with, and luckily enough we got the chance where we could get him, so at least he can finish with us.”

Cowick enjoys being able to share a laugh at practice with a coaching legend who’s been around the game so long.

“The game changes so much and he’s still the most knowledgeable guy I’ve ever met around the game,” says Cowick, who calls his coach Mr. Kilrea. “There are so many little things that go a long way and I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of stuff I’ve learned here within the last three weeks. I can’t wait to see what it’s going to be like after three months.”

As he looks out from the players’ entrance at the Civic Centre, Cowick can’t even see all the seats in the venue and he gets goose bumps in anticipation of a packed stadium Friday night.

“Hopefully you’ll see a lot of Cowick signs and jerseys here in the future,” smiles the six-foot-two 19-year-old who now weighs over 200 pounds. “I don’t think anything will compare to the home opener, so I’m really looking forward to it, that’s for sure. Most of the people there will know of me, through somebody or another way. It’s my hometown, so it’s just that much more special.”