Dekort looks onward

By Kenton Wolfe
They say when a door closes, a window opens.
He may have had a disappointing season, but that hasn’t stopped Windsor Spitfires goaltender Jordan Dekort from staying positive.
“It was really disappointing you know, we all had really high expectations,” said Dekort. “We wanted to finish top-4 in our conference and go on a little playoff run. It was tough, we had a lot of injuries. We lost a lot of players like Seels (Patrick Sieloff) and (Slater) Koekkoek. The guys were really hurt losing them. It was just a really tough year.”
Playing in a limited role, Dekort wasn’t able to showcase his talent as much as he would’ve liked to.
“I didn’t get all the games I wanted obviously,” said Dekort. “It was probably better for the team, Pav (Jaroslav Pavelka) had a really good year. It was great to learn from him.”
Dekort will take the experience from playing behind Pavelka and try to turn it into motivation for this summer. With Pavelka possibly being forced out of the crease next season, as the team is limited to just three overagers and two import players, Dekort’s time to shine may be now.
“We’ve had a couple weeks off so far,” Dekort said. “We’re starting workouts on April 8, we’ll start that up and it will go in five week (increments) and into the end of August, when training camp starts. I’ll probably get back on the ice with my goalie coach around May or June,” said Dekort. “Then I’ll probably go home for a little bit in July and part of August. Then I can start skating with the guys.”
Being born in 1995, this year’s NHL Entry Draft in Newark, N.J. is Dekort’s first year of eligibility.
“I’ll probably talk to my agent and see what the word is out there,” said Dekort. “I’m not expecting to be drafted. If I did it would be great. I had a little bit of a rough end to the year but you never know. Whatever happens, happens.”
Even though his chances look bleak, he remains positive.
“If I get drafted, great. If not, even better – I get to prove people wrong next year.”
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