It's almost uncanny for Victoria Royals defenceman Tyler Stahl that John Fogerty performed Saturday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The words of Fogerty's famous sports song are about baseball, but they almost seem directly aimed at Stahl: "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play today."
Stahl returns to the Royals lineup for this afternoon's 1 p.m. Western Hockey League matinée against the Kamloops Blazers after sitting out a six-game suspension for a hit to the head of an opponent during the pre-season. That hit cost the 20-year-old blueliner three exhibition games and the first three games of the regular season.
"I'm excited to be getting back in," said the native of Drumheller, Alta., who was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the sixth round of the 2010 NHL draft but not signed.
The six-foot-two Stahl is soft-spoken, preferring to do his talking on the ice. His return is a welcome stabilizer on a team that dressed two rookie defencemen in Friday night's 4-3 shootout victory over the Blazers.
As a veteran and team leader, Stahl admitted it's been "tough" and "frustrating" to be on ice and not on the ice to start the season.
"I've tried to be encouraging to the guys [from the sidelines]," he said.
"And I've tried to practise at a high pace [to be ready for game speed]."
The three overage 20-year-old slots allowed on each WHL roster are considered crucial for the success of any team. For the first time this regular season, the Royals will get to play all their over-agers - with Stahl finally joining forwards Jamie Crooks and Alex Gogolev.
Victoria is an early-season surprise and 3-0 heading into today's game while the touted Blazers, ranked No. 8 in the BMO Mastercard Canadian Hockey League top-10 poll, are 2-0-1.
