
‘He’s a battler’: Veteran forward Corey Perry playing key role for Oilers
EDMONTON — Mark Hunter remembers pulling Corey Perry aside for a chat.
The co-owner and general manager of the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights wanted to make sure his player understood the consequences.
“Grit, hitting people and punching people,” Hunter recalled of the skinny teenager’s on-ice approach. “He was like 160 pounds … ‘Seriously Corey, don’t be doing that. You might get hurt by somebody.’
“But he didn’t want to be pushed around. There was desire to be the best.”