He has no clue how to tie a bow tie, but that doesn’t stop Sergey Tolchinsky from wearing one.

The one he’s sporting is pre-tied, and purple to match his shirt. The form-fitting wool cap on his head makes the diminutive Russian look like a cross between history professor and baby-faced hipster. When asked about this particular fashion statement, the Soo Greyhounds forward is ebullient.

“It’s a special day for me,” says Tolchinsky.

It’s a non-descript Sunday afternoon in Mississauga, though he has just collected three assists while helping the Greyhounds beat the host Steelheads 4-3. He celebrated his 18th birthday in early February.

So what exactly is so special about today?

“Every game day is a special day.”

Tolchinsky is a colourful character who is happiest when on the ice. It’s not uncommon to find him at the rink in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., long before everyone else arrives and long after everyone else has gone home. Hockey for him has always been fun, not hard work, he says, because there’s no other place he’d rather be than the arena.

“He goes out in the mornings by himself and stickhandles,” says Greyhounds teammate Andrew Fritsch. “He loves it. Sometimes I’ll go out with him.”

Like many teammates there’s a healthy dose of competition and camaraderie. But as many who have seen Tolchinsky play, his very particular set of skills are Liam Neeson-worthy.

“I just watch him and I’m amazed,” says Fritsch of their stickhandling sessions. “I’ll try it and maybe I’ll move a pylon or something, and for me, I think I have OK hands. Watching him I’m like, ‘OK I need to work on my hands a bit more.’ It’s fun watching him and playing with him is even better.

“He just loves hockey, you can tell. He loves being at the rink and loves doing all the extra stuff.”

The extra stuff – Tolchinsky’s labour of love – has paid dividends. He’s among the OHL’s top-scoring rookies with 23 goals and 46 points in 56 games. Eligible for June’s NHL entry draft, he’s ranked 149th among North American skaters. One of the biggest drawbacks for Tolchinsky is his size. The OHL lists him at 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds, but that’s being generous.

"Size doesn't necessarily preclude a player, but for certain teams size is more of a factor than others," says Dan Marr, director of the NHL's Central Scouting Service. "The ways the rules have changed (in the NHL) there are more opportunities for smaller players to get their chance in the NHL.

"Tolchinsky is on the smaller side of small ... but for him as a first-year player coming in with the offence that he's creating, that is going to put him in for draft consideration."

The right winger says his speed and puckhandling developed out of necessity playing in the Russian club Red Army’s junior system. His grandfather, Vladimir Tolchinsky, played hockey professionally for Red Army in the former Soviet Union. Like Sergey, Vladimir was also slight, so the elder Tolchinsky instilled the belief that hard work could compensate for lack of size.

“I have to do something different from what other guys can do,” explains Tolchinsky. “I have to be quick. I have to have more skill because I am small.”

It’s not unusual for him to spend hours doing drills to improve his stickhandling.

“I am crazy about it,” says Tolchinsky. “If my hands feel wrong, I feel so bad.”

“Sometimes you think his hands move quicker than his feet,” adds Fritsch. “And his feet move so fast.”

When asked about his size in relation to the NHL draft, Tolchinsky points to a little girl – less than half his size – waiting in the corridor to get into a dressing room with her minor hockey team.

“She is small. I’m not.”

Despite his stature, Tolchinsky thinks the game big. He sees his size as an asset, though he readily admits he needs to get stronger and add muscle before the draft.

“I can’t really compare him to anyone I’ve played with,” says Fritsch, a sixth-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes. “He’s just a little guy out there. But he doesn’t play like a little guy. He might be 5-foot-5 and people might take him lightly, but he can get into those corners no problem.”

Tolchinsky talks about his teammate David Broll, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound power forward who is aptly nicknamed ‘The Brolldozer.’

“It’s difficult to move fast for him,” says Tolchinsky of the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect. “I don’t mean that he is slow. It’s just harder for him to move fast, than for me.

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