The Guelph Storm team picture after winning the OHL Championship. Photo is courtesy of Gar Fitzgerald. FInd him on Twtter and Instagram @gar_pic

 

There has been something cinematic about the life of Russ (Rusty) Hammond.

Not in a way where nothing goes wrong for the popular longtime equipment manager of the Guelph Storm, but in a way he has touched the lives of so many hockey players with grace, thoughtfulness and most of all enthusiasm.

 

The final chapter has yet to be written for the strawberry-blond Guelph resident, but he already is a success story.

 

Teenaged hockey players have come and gone with the Storm for the past 28 seasons. Hammond, however, has touched each and every one of them in some fashion, from Andy Adams to Steve Zmudczynski.

 

Hammond still hears from many of the alumni when they’re passing through or on a special occasion like when he was inducted into the Guelph Sports Hall of Fame in the builder category in 2012. There have been triumphs to celebrate and losses to bemoan in his nearly three decades with Guelph.

 

You can bet past Storm players such as Dustin Brown, Dwayne Hay, Andrew Long, Chris Madden, Manny Malhotra and Brian Willsie have been thinking about Hammond this week, hoping he finally raises the Memorial Cup.

 

The Storm is in good shape, locking up a spot in at least the weekend semifinal on Saturday. 

 

This is Hammond’s sixth trip to the Memorial Cup with the Storm. Each team has been unique wth different faces, different personalties. But this edition has been like no other because coach and general manager George Burnett made several trades during the season.

 

Even Hammond had difficulty keeping track of who left and who was coming in. But now that this Storm squad has been together for a few months, they've had remarkable comeback wins in the second round against the London Knights, in the West final against the Saginaw Spirit and once again in the J. Ross Robertson Cup against the Ottawa 67’s.

 

“It took some time for this group to come together, but they have definitely hit their stride,” Hammond said over the phone from Halifax this week. “This is a special group because we have players like Nate Schnarr who have gone through some difficult seasons with the Storm to get here and we have players like the guys from Owen Sound who also suffered through tough times and guys from Hamilton who came so close last year but lost in the Memorial Cup semifinal.”

 

This all started for Hammond when he was a youngster. He tried out with some friends for the local junior C team, the Guelph Dee’s Beef Kings. He was cut but found a way to stay on the team as the equipment manager.

 

Rusty already had some experience. He helped out the Guelph Regals senior team. He could have joined the family business, Hammond Mechanical. But he loved being an equipment manager. He worked his way up the ranks from junior C to junior B to the Storm. When the Dukes of Hamilton moved to Guelph in 1991 new general manager Mike Kelly noticed Hammond’s work ethic at the old Memorial Gardens and made him the new OHL team’s equipment man.

 

"The junior B team and the Storm had dressing rooms next to each other and even shared the same shower area," Kelly recalled. "Russ kept the area so clean I think he used a tooth brush as a cleaning tool. When it comes to the job he pays attention to detail.

 

"He also has the ability to sell the program. He takes these kids and treats them in a first-class manner. He takes them to lunch and knows how to break the ice. I don't know where the Guelph Storm would be without Russ.”

 

There have been opportunities for Hammond to leave for bigger cities and the pro game. But he has remained tethered to Guelph because of his deep roots in the city.

 

He has enjoyed stints with Hockey Canada. There was a gold medal with the Canadian under-18 team in 2003 and silver with Sidney Crosby and Canada at the 2004 World Juniors. He has done the Top Prospects games and the Canada/Russia Subway series. He is friends with legends Brian Kilrea and Don Cherry.

 

The one thing that is missing is a Memorial Cup championship. But Hammond doesn’t want to turn this week into a Win One for Rusty campaign.

 

“I want the players to win it for themselves,” he said. “But if we won, that would be the highlight of my life, besides getting married and the birth of my first.”

 

And it would be a nice final chapter to his cinematic life.