Larman part of Knights CHL championship

Drew Larman came to the London Knights early in the Ontario Hockey League season from the Sarnia Sting and had his season extended into late May.

Sarnia didn't qualify for the playoffs and London dominated the OHL from wire to wire en route to their first OHL Robertson Cup title and then Sunday night, a Canadian Hockey League Memorial Cup championship on their home ice.

Larman, a 20-year-old Canton native, was an integral part of the Knights run to their dual championship. Larman tallied two goals against the Kelowna Rockets in the Memorial Cup round-robin on May 23 after totalling just 13 goals in 70 regular-season games.

"It (felt) pretty good to be able to contribute offensively and getting those two goals was huge, especially to get it started because we were struggling a little bit in the beginning," said Larman in the London Free Press, who tied it 1-1 at 7:16 of the first period.

His second goal came seven minutes into the third period, giving the Knights a 4-1 lead.

The Knights beat Sidney Crosby and the Rimouski Oceanic in the opening game and championship game of the Memorial Cup. Kelowna and the Ottawa 67's also fell to London. The final was a 4-0 shutout for the Knights.

The trade from Sarnia wasn't expected, but proved to be a turning point for Larman's season.

"I was a little nervous coming in, especially to a team already 10-0," Larman said in the same Free Press story of the Knights' record at the time of the trade. "I didn't want to shake things up too much, but it didn't take too long for me to get comfortable."

Larman is eligible to return to the OHL next season as an overage (20-year-old) player.

Another Michigan native, Sterling Heights defenseman Frank Rediker, was hurt much of the year and didn't see any action in the OHL playoffs or Memorial Cup. His career may be done, but he has an overage option next season as well. Rediker came to the Knights at the 2004 OHL trade deadline from the Windsor Spitfires, the team that took him in the first round of the 2001 OHL Priority Selection.