Blackhawks climbing the standings
Just one look was all it took to convince Thorold Blackhawks coach Scott Barnes that Rian Meisner had what it took to succeed at the junior level.
“First time I saw him was last summer,” Barnes recalled. “I had him on a small, private rink in COVID times where we had a couple of guys on the ice and you could see his skating and his strength and skill.
“I didn’t really see him in a game but I could see he could really play. I could tell he had the tools to play at the junior level.”
Barnes was particularly impressed with Meisner’s raw skill.
“He brings a lot of good physical tools,” Barnes said. “He can skate, he can shoot and he’s powerful. He can play the body. He’s a strong, physical kid who has a lot of things going for him.”
Meisner, a 17-year-old Oakville native, said he wasn’t a naturally gifted player, only advancing to the A level before attending Blyth Academy, a private prep school in Burlington.
“I’m coming from a lower level of hockey,” Meisner said. “I put in a lot of work at Blyth Academy. I was on the ice every day, multiple hours, two to three hours a day. I really worked on my skating and my shot, my skills, my hands. That’s turned me into the player I am today.”
Meisner came across Blyth, where he still attends school, almost by accident.
“I was looking for somewhere to play after minor midget. I didn’t know exactly what it was but I reached out to the coach and went out for a skate and made the team,” he said. “I started out lower on the depth chart and worked my way up and by the end of the year I was one of the top guys there.”
Meisner came to Thorold with the same mentality.
“I (knew I would) have to start at the bottom and work my way up to the top. I know my game. I know I have to play with an edge, physical and work hard,” he said.
Meisner needed some time to adjust to the junior level but has been more of a notable force on the ice recently.
“I had some up and down moments at the start of the season but I’m starting to find my stride,” he said. “I knew what I had to do. I knew if I did that I would success.
“It’s definitely an adjustment and it took some work. It took me about half the season to where I was comfortable every game.”
Meisner has six goals and 10 points in 39 games, including points in four of his last seven games.
“We’ve brought him along kind of slowly,” Barnes said. “He’s chipped in here and there and he’s now becoming a pretty big part of our penalty kill.
“He’s progressed. It’s a pretty big jump for him but he’s come a long way.”
Barnes feels Meisner could move up the ladder once more, perhaps as early as next season.
“He’s a guy who I feel will try and make the jump to junior A. Whether he needs another year of junior B and maybe getting a bigger role with more ice time next year would probably benefit him, but I see him as a guy who wants to get to the next level.”
The Blackhawks topped the Welland Junior Canadians 3-2 Monday night at Thorold Arena for their second consecutive win over the Junior Canadians.
The Blackhawks, 13-27, move into a tie with the struggling Pelham Panthers for sixth spot and trail Welland by seven points for fifth.
“We are super-excited, especially since we’ve been playing the trap we’ve been able to kind of surprise teams with that,” Meisner said. “Our offence, we’ve always kind of had flashes here and there. Now that we can stop them from scoring on us, we can take the puck the other way and some them what we have.”
Barnes feels the Blackhawks are heading in the right direction with the playoffs on the horizon.
“We’re playing the right way and we like what we have so we’ll see where we go,” he said. “We started really liking our team going into the lockdown in January. We liked what we had in place, some good young guys, and even some of our older guys are newer to junior hockey and I think the first couple of months it was almost just getting adjusted to the league.”
STATS PACK
Blackhawks 3 Junior Canadians 2
Thorold’s Adrian Diodati.
Thorold Blackhawks: Adrian Diodati 2 (7,8); Sam Tonelli (12).
Welland Junior Canadians: Zach Kent (13); Ari Alakorpi (7).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Thorold on Nico Balice (28), by Welland on Noah Fortuna (32); Power plays: Thorold 0/3, Welland 0/2; Penalty minutes: Thorold 24, Welland 6.
Up next: The Blackhawks are at Fort Erie Saturday and Pelham Sunday afternoon. The Junior Canadians host the Niagara Falls Canucks Sunday.
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