Sceptres’ rookie Gentry finding her way just when they need her most

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Emma Gentry was well aware before she got to the PWHL that making the jump to the professional level was not going to be an easy one.

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She had a head coach at St. Cloud State in Brian Idalski who made the jump to the PWHL himself after years of coaching women’s hockey around the world and most recently at the U.S. college level. He certainly warned her.

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But she also formed her own opinion of the league and the level she would be joining based on the first two years of watching the league.

So she knew coming in the number of goals she had been racking up in college wouldn’t necessarily be waiting for her in her first year of professional hockey.

In that respect she is no different than many of the first-year players in the league not named (first-overall pick) Kristyna Kaltounkova.

Julia Gosling scored four goals in her rookie year over 30 games last season with Toronto. She started to get hot late in the year and then in the playoffs scored three times in four games.

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In the off-season Gosling was one of four players the Sceptres lost in the expansion draft. In her second year Gosling already has six goals in her first 21 games.

Gentry so far has one goal in her first 19 games as a member of the Sceptres, that coming in the third game of the year against Montreal.

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Lack of scoring has been frustrating

Gentry admits the lack of point production has been frustrating at times, but she has maintained a positive outlook despite that.

“It has not been that hard to be honest with you,” Gentry said Monday following a scheduled skills session. “I wanted to come into the league and fully embrace everything that has been given to me and just learning, taking it game by game, and just being grateful for the experience.

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“Obviously I had a really good college career and plan to do that in the PWHL too, but I know that will take time and as long as I build the foundation right, it’s going to come.”

When Gentry does get frustrated she has plenty of coping mechanisms. She is an active journaler, has a very supportive family that she relies on and made the wise decision to room with fellow rookie Kiara Zanon in her first season. The two have been good company for each other and sounding boards when the frustration level starts to get high.

Gentry isn’t the first to make the jump from college to the pros and have to re-define her concept of what exactly fast hockey looks like.

It’s not just the speed of the game itself which takes a jump, but also the amount of time a player has to make a decision about what to do with the puck before an opponent is on her.

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“It’s just way faster,” Gentry said. “You have to know where the puck is going before you get it and that has been the main thing.

“I’m still learning, but I think my last two games have definitely showed my growth, so I was thankful to build a little bit more of that foundation over (Olympic) break and I plan to carry that through the next eight games.”

Gentry was Toronto’s first pick in last year’s draft, the No. 11 selection off the board after the team traded its first rounder to the New York Sirens in exchange for Ella Shelton.

A double-digit scorer though each of her final four years in college, Gentry also brings a physical game to the Sceptres that is only just beginning to show itself.

Gentry wants to be more physical

Gentry said she focussed on using her body more and being more physical during the three week break over the Olympics. Gentry and the 13 other members of the roster that were not in Milan practised four times a week while the Olympics were on.

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“Being strong in the corners and getting the puck to the front of the net more is really important for me because I feel I’m good on the walls and in the corners, but bringing it to the middle of the ice and the front of the net is key because that is where all the goals are scored,” she said.

There was a moment in the Sceptres win over Boston when Gentry simply flew past a Boston defender as the puck was heading down the ice preventing an icing and getting the Sceptres an offensive possession they wouldn’t have otherwise had.

Gentry laughed when she is asked if she suddenly found another gear.

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“I think at the beginning of the year you are just trying to figure out what is going to work for you and now I feel like I have been able to gain more confidence and also kind of experimented with what I can do more of out there,” she said.

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“But it’s kind of funny because I got a couple of comments like ‘Where did that come from?” Gentry shared. “I’m like, ‘It’s always been there guys, it just has taken some time for it to come out.”

Gentry actually came out of the break injured sustaining a lower-body injury in an off-ice incident that cost her the first game out of the break but she’s been showing progress ever since.

Has made a good transition from college to PWHL

Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan is more aware than most what that jump from the college ranks to the pros can mean to a player’s game. He has seen it with Gosling, now in Seattle, with Izzy Daniel, now in Vancouver. Daniel had two goals in her rookie year over 30 games and is already up to five in her second year, now with the Goldeneyes.

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“I thought her last couple of games were very solid,” Ryan said of Gentry. “I’ve liked her game. I think she is trending in the right direction. I’ve got a video session with her (on Tuesday) when we’ll go over some of the next plays. If we execute a breakout, what is the next play? If we execute an entry, what is the next play?”

So, the learning curve is on-going but the confidence level is up, helped no doubt by a couple of impressive goals in the recent three-on-three that the Sceptres and the Leafs put on for their fans as part of a Fan Appreciation day at Scotiabank Arena.

“I think she has been playing as we would expect her to and getting comfortable,” Ryan said. “If she continues to know how to use her body and protect the puck, she will give herself a little bit more of a window … but she’s been good.”

With eight games to play in the regular season and with any luck, a playoff run after that, the Sceptres will need to find scoring from all corners of the roster and Gentry qualifies as an area they can find some of that.

mganter@postmedia.com

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