By Steve Fitzsimmons, Hockey Now

For Guelph Storm goalie Brandon Foote, this year has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. After having off-season surgery to repair an injured hip, the Guelph Storm was not entirely sure what they were getting back upon his return. Acquired by Guelph at the OHL trade deadline last year from Brampton in a deal for Tom McCollum, Foote wasn’t exactly lights out, going 7-10-1 after the trade with a weak .889 save percentage and played poorly in Guelph’s first round playoff exit. Foote subsequently went undrafted in the 2009 NHL Draft.

Needless to say nothing major was expected of him when he finally was able to play on Jan. 8. Guelph resided nine points back of the Owen Sound Attack for the final playoff spot, but Foote came in and instantly gave Guelph high-level netminding, playing better than ever before.

He helped lead Guelph back from the depths, posting a 20-8-1 record in 29 games in the second half. He also put up a 3.07 GAA and a very impressive .913 save percentage and became a serious difference maker and was stealing wins, helping them finish seventh in the Western Conference standings, then faced London in the opening round of the OHL playoffs, losing in five hard-fought games.

Foote feels that the break from hockey turned out to be a good thing for him in the end, as he recovered from surgery. “I’ve never gone a summer without really training hard for the next upcoming year. Maybe I just needed a break after last year and not having the best second-half of the year when I got traded tot Guelph.”

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