York hoping to fulfill OHL dream

It didn’t take long for Tai York to make an impression with the St. Catharines Falcons.

Called up to play for the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League team in an Oct. 25 game against Buffalo, the 15-year-old Niagara-on-the-Lake resident recorded a goal and an assist in a 7-0 victory.

“It was fun but it was nerve-wracking the first couple of shifts,” the Grade 10 student at A.N. Myer said. “After that, I joined in and it felt like I fit in with them too.”

York’s play impressed Falcons head coach Tyler Bielby.

“I didn’t see a lot of him but I thought he caught on pretty quickly to our systems with his hockey IQ,” he said. “He was all over the ice and, at one point, he became a target for the other team. You have to be doing something right when you have the other team doing that.”

Bielby sees a bright future for York.

“He’s a well-mannered, young man who will do some damage as he grows into his game.”

The Niagara North Stars player is ready to take the next step in his hockey career Saturday as he awaits to see his name posted during the 2020 OHL Priority Selection.

The 5-foot-11, 150-pound left winger has been preparing for this day for years.

“It has always been my goal,” he said. “It is next level hockey and probably the best league to play in.”

It wasn’t until this year when scouts began to approach him that he realized he had a chance to play in the OHL.

“I was shocked,” he said.

He figures three particular attributes caught the eye of scouts.

“It is my hard work, grittiness and creativity,” he said.

York recorded 33 goals and 74 points in 67 games for Niagara North and, at one point in the season, was listed as a player to watch in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association’s website’s minor midget AAA team rankings.

The website had lots of nice things to say about York.

“A smart offensive player that uses his speed and instincts to produce offensively. Can read and react well, anticipating where pucks will be. This allows him to exploit mistakes or to pick off passes where he can then strike with his shot or use his patience to open things up. York routinely gets rewarded for having smart positional play and has been a big reason for his team’s success thus far.”

York feels the biggest improvements in the past season have come in his consistency.

“I have been getting at least a point per game and have been playing hard in all three zones.”

He feels the next step in his progression is to get stronger and he has turned to his uncle, Steve Lidstone, for help. Lidstone is the associate director of Brock Sports Performance.

“He’s getting me a lot stronger with off-ice training.”

York has no favourite OHL squad and will gladly go to any team that drafts him. He attended plenty of Niagara IceDogs game this season in anticipation of getting drafted.

“I tried to see a lot of players.”

York started in hockey when he was four and has been playing AAA hockey since age five or six. He began his AAA career with the Southern Tier Admirals and has spent the past four years with the Niagara North Stars.

Like every hockey player in Canada, York saw his hockey season ended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Niagara North was getting ready to play the Buffalo Regals in a game which the winner would advance to the OHL Cup.

“It sucks,” he said, adding there was only one thing he could do in response. “I have pretty much just been working out.”

On Saturday, he plans to follow the draft on-line with his family.

“I am excited for the day but I am really nervous.”

For more on the draft see links below:

Wyatt Gibson profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/better-late-than-never/

Keaton Zavitz profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/captain-zavitz-hopes-for-ohl-shot/

Ethan Whitcomb profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/clutch-player-eyes-ohl-draft/

Connor Thomson-Dick profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/commitment-to-hockey-pays-off/

Derek Smythe profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/smythe-content-to-stay-home/

Trent Swick profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/hard-work-pays-off-for-swick/

Jacob LeBlanc profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/leblanc-brothers-sticking-together/

Andrew LeBlanc profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/the-centre-of-attention/