Team captains Will Jones of the Lindsay Muskies and Nathan Porter of the Haliburton County Huskies participate in the ceremonial puck drop ahead of the Huskies’ inaugural home game at the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena in Minden on Saturday. (Photo by Ray MacAloney / OJHL Images)

Ontario Junior Hockey League resident reporter Ron Valentine is profiling the 2021-22 team captains of The OJ.

BY RON VALENTINE

Veteran blueliner NATHAN (NATE) PORTER is the inaugural captain of the OJHL's HALIBURTON COUNTY HUSKIES. The Whitby native was an assistant captain in the 2019-20 campaign for his hometown Fury, before they moved to Minden. He played his first two seasons in the OJHL with the Pickering Panthers.

Porter represented Team East in the CJHL Top Prospects game against Team West in Hamilton in January 2020. He was drafted by the North Bay Battalion in the sixth round of the 2017 Ontario Hockey League’s Priority Selection. 

"I went to their camp for a couple of years,” Nate noted, "but it was just not the right fit for me at the time, I made the right decision, as this will be my fifth season in the OJHL (including the 2020-21 non-event) and now I'm in a position where I can be a leader in a 'new' club in a town that is eager to embrace junior hockey.

"Missing the entire last season was tough, although we did get to play some exhibition games in October. In the 2019-20 season I think the Fury surprised a lot of people and we were a bit disappointed with the way it ended (a first-round playoff loss) we came up against a very strong Trenton club."

"I will have two, for now, very strong assistant captains in Isaac Sooklal and Oliver Tarr who were teammates in 2019-20. Tarr is a great goal scorer and Sooklal is as tough as nails. Both players went to the MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League) last season and told me the experience was great for them."

Tarr had a 37-point rookie start in Whitby and suited up last season for the Miramichi Timberwolves. He had an excellent playoff there with 12 points in 11 games. Sooklal played for the Pictou County Crushers last season and immediately made his presence known there.

"I love the outdoors,” Porter told the OJHL. “I'm not the kind of person who wants to sit in a cubicle in an office so Minden is a great place to be for me. The Huskies have already become the focus of attention here. In Whitby, although we had a great facility, it was tough to attract fans as there was so much to do in that area other than hockey. We have the same great coaching staff in place so on the ice it will be a seamless transition."

Describe your game, Nate?

"Though I'm a defenceman I have an offensive spark in me. I feel one of my strengths is my puck-moving ability. I love to lay on the body, always have, but it's also nice to chip in pointwise. I learned a lot from our captains in '19-'20 Amedeo Mastrangeli (now at Elmira College, playing for the Soaring Eagles in New York state) and Ethan Doyle (now with the GOJHL's Caledonia Corvairs)."

"It's looking like we are going to have a club that is really quick. I'm anticipating breakout seasons for a lot of '03 players, especially Patrick Saini (he had a 22-point rookie season) who is relentless on the puck, just like a bulldog. My job is to keep everyone focused, lead by example and make sure that we always play as a team. The East is always a tough division but we will more than hold our own and go further in the players than we did in '19-20."

Nathan had played 168 OJHL regular season and playoff games coming into this season so his cool demeanour, strong leadership qualities and wealth of experience will quickly endear himself to the Huskies fans. 

Follow Ron Valentine on Twitter @ronandlynda