Bilcke: My game won’t change

by Rob Benneian

Ty Bilcke could cost the Windsor Spitfires a lot of money this season.

The Ontario Hockey League announced a new rule Sept. 20 designed to curb fighting. Any player who accumulates more than 10 fights will earn a two-game suspension for each additional fight. From 16 fights onward, it will begin to hurt the player’s team financially to the tune of a $1,000 fine for each occurrence.

With 37 fights, the six-foot-two, 217-pound native of Exeter, Ont. was far and away the leader in dropping the mitts last season. The next closest combatant was Erie Otters winger Johnny McGuire with 23.

Had this rule been in place a year ago, the 18-year-old Bilcke would have been suspended for 54 of his team’s 68 games. Fights 16-37 would have cost the Spitfires $22,000. Bilcke laughed when presented with these numbers. He said a new  rule wouldn’t lead to a new Ty.

“My game is not going to change. I’m still gonna be a physical player, get on the forecheck and get pucks to the net,” Bilcke said. “I’m gonna crash and bang, and bang my body around. I’m still gonna look after my teammates, I’m still gonna protect whoever I have to. My play is not going to change.”

Besides, Bilcke insists, there is more to his game than being the team’s resident problem solver.

“The fighting isn’t anything I’m focused on. I’m a hockey player number one,” Bilcke said.

Head coach Bob Boughner is no stranger to the fight game. During a decade-long NHL career that saw him amass nearly 1,400 penalty minutes, he established a reputation as a physical player and earned the nickname “Boogie Man.” He said he’s not worried about Bilcke’s value diminishing as a result of the rule change.

“There’s a lot of ways to be a tough player,” Boughner said. “People always think of (Bilcke) as a fighter, but one of his best attributes from a coaching standpoint is how he can get in on the forecheck. I think he’s one of the best open-ice hitters in the league.”

The sophomore right winger might be playing with a chip on his shoulder this year. He took some heat last year for making public his desire to hit the 30-fight plateau and to serve 200 penalty minutes.

“I’ve been called in articles a goon or a thug-in-training, and that’s not what I am,” Bilcke said. “I’m a hockey player, so that’s what I’m going to focus on.”

As you might expect from a young man who has absorbed a lot of punches, Bilcke can handle it when members of the media take shots. He said he laughs it off because he knows the reporters are wrong.

Bilcke said he knew rule changes regarding fighting were on the way as early as last season, so he worked hard to develop the rest of his game. OHL commissioner David Branch said in March that “there was an appetite” around the league to significantly stiffen penalties for fighting. This  rule change would certainly qualify as a significant stiffening. During a conference call Sept. 19 Branch reaffirmed his position.

“Our league has clearly stated that we are addressing fighting,” Branch said.

As the poster-boy for scrapping in junior hockey, Bilcke said he had a message for anyone who wrote him off as “just a fighter.”

“Watch this season,” Bilcke said. “I’m a totally different player. I still have my physical presence in my game, but I’m really happy with my off-season. I haven’t left Windsor since last year. I’ve been working on a lot. My skating has come a long way. My puck play, my passing, everything has gotten better. My shot has gotten better. I’m looking forward to proving some people wrong. I’m going to be a player in this league.”