HALLOWELL — Cam Wilson isn’t a pessimistic person by nature, so it’s not because he’s focused on the negative that he expects a text message to pop up on his phone telling him there’s been a change.
The Cony/Hall-Dale/Monmouth senior has bounced from position to position throughout his hockey career, and the top centerman for the Rams won’t be surprised if he gets notice from head coach Chad Foye that he’s being dropped back to the blue line for a game or two.
“Growing up, I played a lot of both offense and defense,” Wilson said before practice at the Camden National Bank Ice Vault on Monday. “For most teams, I switched between offense and defense. It’s hard to say, ‘Oh, I want to play on offense’ or ‘I want to play defense.’ Both have their perks. I enjoy skating and like to use my speed, and whatever coach feels I can do, I will do.”
Even though the 6-foot, 170-pound Wilson was an All-State defenseman last season, he’s made the move to the pivot this year — for the first time in his career, at any level, after working either on the blue line or the wing — and Foye has no notion of moving Wilson again. Wilson’s versatility, productivity and ability all fit Cony’s philosophy perfectly. He’s a big reason the Rams enter this week’s showdown with rival Gardiner with a 10-4-0 record and ranked third in Class A North, right behind perennial regional powers Lewiston and Bangor.
“He’s a kid that can carry things and get everyone else going,” Foye said. “Generally, he does that, and he’s done it at both ends of the ice. He’s made a lot of plays that nobody recognizes unless you know hockey, where he’s come back and backchecked really hard, finished a check, and created a turnover so the puck can go the other way.
“He gets a lot done.”
With two goals Saturday in a 6-2 win over Windham/Westbrook, Wilson is tied for the team lead with 12 goals this season.
Avery Pomerleau and Cole Lockhart, Wilson’s junior wingers on either side, also have 12 goals apiece. In part, it’s Wilson’s effect on the overall game that has played a role in that.
For Pomerleau, in particular, after a streaky sophomore season in which he scored seven goals, playing with Wilson has helped provide him with a level of consistency this winter.
“It’s contagious when someone gives a lot of energy,” Pomerleau said of Wilson. “He’s a smart player, and he knows where to be and where to pass the puck. It seems like he’s always in the right place.”
“I think (playing with Wilson) has definitely helped him,” Foye added. “It’s good when Avery has to chase people, when he has to keep working to keep up with other players, it leads to good things for him.”
Wilson’s game isn’t flashy, and he’s the first to admit there are areas where he’s still finding his way.
“For a kid that’s never taken faceoffs, I at least know what I’m supposed to do,” he said with a laugh.
On a Cony team that values grit over glamour and hard work over highlights, he’s developed into the perfect player for the Rams in this moment. His energy is infectious, as it was in the third period of what turned out to be a 2-0 loss at Lewiston (13-1-0). In that game, Wilson’s speed and pressure gave the Rams life of a comeback and nearly produced what would have been a tying goal.
Chemistry, Pomerleau said, is important, particularly for a Rams team that isn’t an offensive juggernaut. Lewiston has scored 40 more goals than Cony this year.
“When you’re working together as a line, you know that someone’s going to be out front if you have the puck in the corner,” Pomerleau said. “And when you have it in the corner, you can dump it behind the net because you know someone will be there. It’s all about keeping it in the offensive zone, and that helps out.”
“The way we want to play the game is that in the defensive zone our center is like a third defenseman, and in the offensive zone it’s the third forward,” Foye said. “With Cam’s skating ability and everything else, center’s a pretty important position, and he’s the one who can think through things and develop an understanding for it. He’s done a really good job with it.”
For Wilson (12-8-20 totals), his success boils down to a simple philosophy: Whatever he’s asked to do, he simply does it to the best of his ability. As an honors student at Cony, he’s smart enough to see that his approach bears fruit.
And if that text ever does come from Foye, be it in the final quarter of the regular season or during a playoff run, Wilson will be happy to embrace any role the team needs.
“It think it plays off the fact that no matter where I am on the ice, I carry the same attributes of being the type of person that you can rely on to do whatever I’m told,” said Wilson, who is entertaining thoughts of continuing his hockey career at a prep school next winter. “The second coach Foye tells me to do something, I try to eliminate whatever my personal opinion might be and just go and do it. If you can be that type of player, and keep the same skill and speed moving in the right direction, it shouldn’t matter where you’re playing.”
Travis Barrett — 621-5621
tbarrett@centralmaiine.com
Twitter: @TBarrettGWC
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