Commitment to hockey pays off
Getting cut from his lacrosse team proved to be a blessing in disguise for Conner Thomson-Dick.
The 15-year-old, Grade 10 student at St. Francis was released from his lacrosse team last year going into his minor midget season and Thomson-Dick responded by fully committing to hockey.
“That is when I realized that hockey was my sport,” Thomson-Dick said. “After I got cut, I was in the gym and on the ice all summer trying to get ready for the minor midget season to follow my dream of making it to the OHL.
“Over the summer, it really came into my head and I decided I needed to get into the gym and start working out and get bigger. That was the point where I starting thinking the OHL could be a possibility for me.”
Thomson-Dick had a strong season for the Niagara North Stars where he collected nine goals and 16 points in 32 regular season games and followed that up with two goals and two assists in 13 post-season games.
“He is one of the most dangerous shooters from the blueline in the minor midget age group,” Stars coach Matt Miller said. “The puck just finds a way to go in the back of the net for him. He is a shoot-first player generating five-plus shots a game.
“Connor is the best skater on our team. He has a beautiful stride, great edge work and has poise with the puck.”
Miller relied on Thomson-Dick to play a significant role.
“He plays a ton of minutes. He was my fourth or fifth defenceman in bantam but this year him and Derek (Smyth) are 1 and IA,” Miller said. “He had huge year for him and the best thing that happened to him was getting cut from the lacrosse team. He took hockey seriously.”
Thomson-Dick will be glued to the computer Saturday for the Ontario Hockey League draft.
“Honestly, I’m obviously anxious,” he said. “Everyone should be but I have a good feeling it will work out for me and things will happen the way they’re supposed to.
“Obviously I would love to get drafted and get a chance to play in the OHL. It’s always been my dream and I’ve always wanted to accomplish getting drafted.”
Thomson-Dick said he has been contacted by about a dozen OHL teams. Most teams called while others send questionnaires to be filled out.
“I’ve seen a lot of different ones. I had a survey I had to answer and they were asking me what my favourite colour was,” Thomson-Dick said. “Some teams asked you who is the hardest player you played against and describe what type of player you are.”
Thomson-Dick tired to put the draft on the back burner this year, but admitted it wasn’t always an easy thing to do.
“Most people I talked to told me not to worry about the draft but obviously I’m going to worry about the draft because I’ve been working toward that all year,” he said.
He feels his game will translate to the OHL.
“I would say I’m an offensive, puck-moving defenceman. I always have my head up looking for the open man and getting shots through to the net and providing scoring chances for the team,” he said.
“I would say to make that jump I would need to put some work in over the summer and bulk up and maybe a year of development and I think I should be good.”
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/
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/
Tai York profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/york-hoping-to-fulfill-ohl-dream/
Sam Alfano profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/alfano-anxious-for-ohl-draft/
Nathan Duplessis profile at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/late-bloomer-chases-ohl-dream/
Niagara IceDogs draft preview at https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/icedogs-looking-for-impact-players-at-draft/
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