CORNWALL, Ontario – This past NHL season saw the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup for the second year in a row. This year, also saw Casey Torres, a scout for the Penguins become the first Cornwall Colts alumnus to be on an Stanley Cup winning team.
Now, Torres has been invited back to Cornwall to drop the puck in the Colts’ home opener against the Brockville Braves on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ed Lumley arena.
Torres played for the Colts during their 1998 season as a back-up goaltender. Fittingly, the first game he played was against the Brockville Braves.
Torres says things he remembers fondly of Cornwall are his teammates and the Cox family, who he boarded with while in town. Torres says he still tries to stay in touch with them the best he can over social media.
“We were a close-knit team,” Torres said.
Of the city itself, Torres feels like Cornwall has grown a lot since 1998. During that year, Torres remembers the Colts going through a building year and ending in fourth or fifth place, but going on to compete for the Royal Bank Cup in 1999.
Torres joined th Pittsburgh Penguins this year as one of their 18 scouts and says that he has been very impressed by the organization.
“Its a first class organization from top to bottom,” he said. “The team flew everyone into Nashville for the final game. Winning the Stanley Cup is something that’s hard to repeat. Our guys played so well, and some played through injuries.”
Advice Torres would give to current Colts would be to always keep working.
“Its a complete battle,” he said. “Every step, every next level gets harder. Always strive to get better and never settle.”
