WORCESTER—Perseverance is a quality, not a quantity, so it does not show up in box scores.
It would be just about impossible, however, to find a successful professional athlete who does not have it. A case in point is Railers forward Anthony Callin.
Callin was one of the best rookies in the ECHL last season. Even though his points production was relatively modest, Callin’s game-after-game consistency made him a valuable player, even if he wasn’t an MVP.
This year promised to be even better but did not start out that way. He was hurt early and could not get untracked. Through his first 15 games Callin had one measly assist to his credit — nary a goal.
His first goal came on Dec. 7 and the goals have been coming ever since. Callin is 9-4-13 in his last 14 games and has goals in four of Worcester’s last six games heading into this three-in-three weekend at the DCU Center.
Coach Nick Tuzzolino saw past the early numbers and had Callin in the lineup every game.
“He is such a solid player,” Tuzzolino said. “He helps us all over the ice. He had his chances, and the puck wasn’t going into the net for him and I’m sure that wore on him, but you knew that eventually that would change and he’d get hot.”
No matter how many little things forwards do well, points are what almost everybody notices first. Even Callin noticed the lack of them.
“I don’t know how many games it was before I scored,” he said, “but it was too many. There were times when I wondered if I’d ever get another, and that kind of gets in your head a little, but you’ve just got to trust your game and understand that goals come in bunches.”
If there was one special change Callin made in his game, it was a basic one.
“Shoot the puck more,” he said. “Goalies can’t stop every shot.”
That perseverance resulted in a major reward. Callin was signed to a pro tryout by the AHL Springfield Thunderbird and made his Triple-A debut on Dec. 31. One his teammates, and linemates, was older brother Drew Callin, the former Railer.
It was the first time the brothers had skated together in high level hockey.
Better yet, the whole Callin family was in town to watch the historic event.
“We got some good pictures of us together,” Anthony Callin said. “My parents were in town, my sister was in town…it was almost like a Christmas present.”
The Railers will play Adirondack Friday night, then Wheeling Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Saturday is Star Wars Night which usually draws a big crowd. Historically, the bigger the crowd the better the Railers play.
They are playing well as the weekend approaches. Worcester has earned points in five straight games including three in two games at first-place Wheeling last weekend. The Railers’ 2-1 victory Sunday marked just the second time the Nailers lost a home game in regulation all season.
The last time Worcester earned points in more than five straight games was December, 2023. The Railers had a seven-game streak in which they were 6-0-1.
Anthony Repaci scored his 20th goal of the season last Saturday in Wheeling. He set two franchise records with that goal. Repaci is the first player in Worcester pro hockey history with three 20-goal seasons, and the goal came in the 36th game of the year.
The previous record for earliest 20th goal was 37 games. That was done by Jordan Smotherman in 2021-22. He went on to score 30.
J.D. Dudek, who has missed much of the season on the injured list, did not tally a point in his first 10 games but was 1-2-3 in Wheeling. His goal on Saturday night was his first in a Railers uniform in 1,895 days. Dudek was a rookie here, missed time due to Covid, was traded to Allen, then played in Europe for two years before returning to Worcester.
Making tracks
Justin Gill has been recalled by Bridgeport. He has been hot, going 2-3-5 in the last three games. … Worcester’s power play is clicking at 22.8 percentage. No Worcester team, AHL or ECHL, has ever finished a season above 21.9. That was done by the 1996-97 IceCats, who won their division. … The Railers and Adirondack have combined to score 32 goals in three games this season. The Railers have played the Thunder 78 times through the years, more than any other opponent.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
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