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OHL Guelph Storm

Girardi and Paving the Way

November 24, 2015 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Guelph Storm News Release


Left undrafted, Dan Girardi first started turning heads with the Guelph Storm, earning two OHL Championships and one Memorial Cup before making his own way to the National Hockey League.

Steph Coratti, GuelphStorm.com ---

You could say he was an underdog. A late bloomer works, too.

Perhaps, though, Dan Girardi was simply the story of needing the right opportunity, at the right time.

That opportunity would be the Guelph Storm.

Entering the OHL with the Barrie Colts as a 16-year-old in 2000-01, Girardi played a mere six games as a rookie.

A ruptured spleen suffered in a pre-season game would put the 1984-born defenseman out of the line up for the majority of the following season, suiting up for 21 games at the tail end of the 2001-02 campaign.

Now two seasons, but only 27 games and one point, into his OHL career, Girardi was left with the task of proving himself.

After playing in 31 games, registering 16 points (three goals, 13 assists), for the Colts to start the 2002-03 season, the Welland, Ontario native would be sent to the Storm.

Progressing on to conclude his third major junior season with 30 points in 67 games while posting an impressive nine points in 11 playoff games with the Storm, Girardi would be passed over again in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

That, however, wouldn't stand in the way of everything the six-foot-one, 205-pound blue liner was on the verge of accomplishing.

Starting with a historic season for the Storm in 2003-04, the club went on to boast a 49-13-5-0 record, finishing second in the Midwest Division. Girardi would be a significant piece to the success on the backend, compiling a career-high 47 points (eight goals, 39 assists) in 68 games.

After battling in a tough seven-game series with the Owen Sound Attack to open the postseason, the Storm swept the Plymouth Whalers, moving on to what would be the ultimate challenge of the 2004 Playoffs: the top-seeded London Knights.

Girardi, who finished the postseason with a more than notable 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) in 22 games, had the task of shutting down a player by the name of Corey Perry.

The series would go back-and-forth with the Storm ultimately advancing to the OHL Finals, taking Game Seven on the road to win the Western Conference.

It would only take four games against the Mississauga Steelheads for the Storm to win their second championship in their 13-year history, beginning Girardi's first of three straight championship titles.

That first one, though, would be the run that put the free agent defenseman on the radar of the National Hockey League - specifically that of the New York Rangers, with Ontario-based scout Rich Brown taking notice.

Girardi played 38 more games with the Storm the following season, registering 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) before being dealt to the Knights.

That season, the Knights would be crowned 2005 OHL Champions and 2005 Memorial Cup Champions - making it two more titles for Girardi, now a proven winner.

The 2005 Memorial Cup, however, would be more than a championship for the defenseman - it, more so, would be the unofficial beginning of his professional playing career.

On the national stage, the Rangers' director of player personnel, Gordie Clark, would be watching.

Obviously impressed, Girardi would eventually sign a free agent, two-way American Hockey League contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack, an affiliate of New York.

Moving from starting his professional career in the ECHL with the Charlotte Checkers in 2005-06, the defenseman would go on to sign a National Hockey League deal, only to be called up on Jan. 27, 2007 due to injury on the Rangers blue line.

Since then, Girardi has made the very most of his career, suiting up for every regular and post-season game the Rangers have appeared in, with the exception of only two contests in 2010-11 where he would be out of the line up due to a rib injury, and once more in 2013-14.

Now in his tenth NHL season, Girardi has racked up over 300 points in 600-plus games, while maintaining an incredible career plus-40 rating.

Continuing to be the winner that first evolved back on the Storm blue line, Girardi is in the pursuit of one more championship title, a Stanley Cup, and has come as close as one can get, appearing in 108 postseason games with the Rangers, compiling 30 points in that stretch.

Certainly not bad for a career that stands on two OHL seasons with 27 games spanning that stretch, leaving nothing but a path to pave to eventually wearing blue on Broadway.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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