My dream to get drafted into the OHL was like every other kid that plays hockey in Ontario. My journey started with the Barrie Colts on April 8th 2017. Everything up to this point has been exciting and fulfilling my expectations. Every Thursday and Saturday the Barrie Molson Centre (BMC) is filled with people and there is a buzz in the air. The speed of play in the OHL is fast because you are playing with and against the best players in Ontario. Playing in the OHL Cup, OHL Gold Cup and Team Canada U17 camp helped prepare me for my first year in Barrie.

   I was lucky enough to be part of one of the best minor midget programs, the Waterloo Wolves. Head Coach of the team Shawn Dietrich really prepared me for the next level. He ran the minor midget program like a junior program, having pregame meetings, and video. Another element that made it like a junior program was our team got our own dressing room where you could keep our equipment. This was a huge bonding element for our team as we would show up early to both practice and games just to hangout. Another great part was we had a great massage therapist Johanna Padalino. She was available before and after practices and games. 

    One thing that playing for the Wolves didn't prepare me for was moving out of my home and changing schools at 16. Moving into a billets house was different for me at first. This was my first time living away from home. My billets were great at welcoming me and making me feel at home so it didn't take too long for me to adjust. On the other hand, the Wolves prepared me to make new friends easily. I have a lot of new teammates and friends at school but one of the best parts is i've become friends with a guy I played against for years from the London AAA Knights, Ryan Suzuki. Although I've made tons of new friends it is great to keep in touch with my old teammates. It was awesome to get together over the Christmas holidays with five current OHLers and practice with this year's Wolves minor midget team. 

    Last year playing for Waterloo we were very fortunate to have great media coverage from local television and radio. I participated in a TV show on Rogers and did many post game interviews with the best in the business, Darren Stevenson. These interviews helped me feel comfortable dealing with the media. To my surprise in my first game in Barrie, Rogers TV asked to interview me between the second and third period as I scored my first OHL goal. 

   Minor midget was easily the most fun I had in my minor hockey career. The friendships which were made will last a lifetime. I want to thank  Shawn and the coaches for the opportunity to play for them. I’m excited to get the second half of the season started in Barrie and I hope the playoff experience I had last year will help me this year as we try to make a deep run in the playoffs. 

Nathan Allensen - December 2017