On one of his family trips this summer, Kole Sherwood found himself visiting Alcatraz, the notorious former island prison.

"Pretty cool," he said.

Maybe it was in San Francisco, his favourite stop, or jaunts to New York or Los Angeles that sparked a resurgence. Or it might have been working out at home in Columbus with a pro hockey crew that included Blue Jacket leader Boone Jenner, the Dorchester native.

But somewhere in there, the Knights forward put the frustrations of last season behind him and arrived in London with renewed confidence.

Sherwood scored in the first two exhibition games against Sarnia. Last fall, he had 12 goals by the Christmas break, then didn't get another -- and was usually a healthy scratch -- in the playoffs and Memorial Cup.

And he never once complained in public.

"If you look in their eyes, the last thing (players) want is a teammate whining," the 19-year-old said. "It wouldn't have done any good. I just tried to keep to myself and tried to work hard and turn it around for next year. Last year obviously wasn't going my way, but it's how you bounce back -- and I'm ready."

His offensive touch is one of the most positive developments of the Knights training camp so far.

The Blue Jackets prospect didn't just shoot more pucks. He hit the weight room with Kevin Collins, the Columbus NHL team's strength coach.

"The Blue Jackets were by my side (last year) and they were always supportive," he said. "I worked a lot on my explosiveness. I'm already 204 (pounds) and don't want to get too much bigger. We did a lot of conditioning. Hopefully, this year, when we're far into the playoffs, I'll still be going 100 per cent.

"I hope Coach (Dale Hunter) gives me the opportunity, but whether I'm first- or second-line, it doesn't matter. It all comes down to me."

When a player loses his spot or isn't seeing the ice much, the best thing to do is follow the lead of someone getting the job done. Watch, and improve yourself.



London Knights goaltender Emanuel Vella during practice at the Western Fair District Sports Centre on Tuesday September 6, 2016 (MORRIS LAMONT, The London Free Press)

That's why the Cup ride was worth much more than a ring to Sherwood and goaltender Emanuel Vella, a fellow Black Ace in the spring.

"The first thing was learning how to be professional," Vella, the 18-year-old netminder, said. "You look at someone like (former co-captain) Christian Dvorak. This guy embodies what a professional should be. He comes to work every day and does extra stuff on and off the ice."

It will be a shock to many in London if Dvorak doesn't crack the Coyotes lineup this fall. The Knights are kings of junior hockey in large part because of the example set by their leaders.

And that's why many of those who didn't play much last season want to stay.

"The second thing I learned was how to win in this league," Vella said. "You learn how to win from being down two goals, up two, overtime -- a variety of situations. It's a difficult skill to achieve because, frankly, you need to be on a good team to know how to win.

"Teams that aren't good don't know how to do it."

Vella, who played Junior B for St. Marys last year, is in another tough spot.

He is 18 and needs to appear in more than the six games he did last year to prove he can be a regular contributor to a contending OHL franchise.

But the Knights expect Flames pick Tyler Parsons to be their starter again and they also signed American Tyler Johnson, who is the same age as Vella.

Vella and Johnson split the 5-3 loss in Sarnia Saturday. Both want to stay.

"It's the best junior team in the country for a reason," Vella, the 6-foot-4 Toronto native, said. "Why would you not want to be part of that? It's exciting, even now, to be at the rink and around these guys.

"It's a winning culture here and it's special."

He trained effectively and improved all his fitness scores. Now, it's putting that effort to good use.

"It's about when I get a chance, then seizing it and giving the team an opportunity to win," Vella said. "It's coming to practice, making as many saves as I can, making more saves than yesterday and building off that.

"If I get the opportunity, then great. Ice time, that's something out of my control."

rpyette@postmedia.com