Henry enjoying new role
Kurtis Henry continues to make progress in his second full season in the Ontario Hockey League.
The 18-year-old former Niagara Falls Canuck was in and out of the lineup last season as a rookie with the Erie Otters and has taken a step forward this year.
“I feel 100 times more comfortable making plays and jumping into the rush once in a while with my role,” said Henry, who spent a season with the Canucks before making the jump to the OHL. “I’m trying to accept a bigger role.”
Henry had one goal and seven points in 44 games last season and has already easily surpassed those totals this season with six goals and 16 points in 46 games.
Henry is enjoying being a top-four defenceman.
“It’s awesome. You practice during the week and then you go into the weekend and you get to play three games,” he said. “It’s my dream. There is nothing else I would rather be doing. I really enjoy it.”
Henry is a big, tough rearguard who takes care of his own end first, but realizes he still has some work to do to round out his game.
“I think I want work on my skating,” he said. “It’s a really fast game so I want to improve on that and it would be nice to get a few extra points in the process, but my main goal is being physical and a stay-at-home defenceman.”
Otters general manager Dave Brown concurs.
“There are some parts of his game that are lacking,” Brown said. “He has to get more mobile so we’re working on him doing that. A lot of it is in your hips. We’re working on him getting more mobility through his hips so he can explode out.
“Hopefully next year he can continue with his development and he can play a top four role again.”
Brown appreciates Henry’s willingness to take on more of a leadership role.
“He’s had a pretty good year this year. He’s an older guy on our team and he’s part of that leadership group to help us through that next phase.
“I think he’s taken on more of a leadership role. He’s a great guy but we want him to focus on his career. He’s a great locker room guy and sometimes he gets distracted.”
The Otters are in their second season of rebuilding after capturing an OHL championship and coming within a victory of a Memorial Cup in 2016/17.
The Otters, 18-26-1-3-1, are ninth overall in the Western Conference and will need a strong final few weeks to make a push for the playoffs.
“It’s tough. Some nights we come out and give it our all and, of course, some teams have loaded up so there’s not much you can do,” Henry said. “Our time will come so you have to keep with the process and not look at the wins or losses.
“We just have to keep progressing.”
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