Like thousands of kids who flock to Sudbury Community Arena on frosty Friday nights, Joe Mazur grew up dreaming about wearing a blue-and-white Sudbury Wolves jersey.
That dream is closer than ever for the forward from Levack, the Sudbury's seventh-round pick in the 2017 OHL Priority Selection, whose strong start in the Great North Midget League has already caught the eye of Wolves brass.
"Playing in the O and living at home, that would be like a dream," said Mazur, due to turn 16 on Friday. "It would be awesome. My parents could come to every game."
Mazur has emerged as a top threat for the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves, powerhouses in the GNML and hosts of the 2018 Telus Cup national midget championship. In 21 games this season, he has 13 goals and 35 points - two more than he managed in 33 games with the Sudbury minor midgets last season.
"I feel like I have been playing well," Mazur said. "I have to keep working on my skating and making my game better."
The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder lists his shot as one of his best attributes.
"When I'm coming out of the corner, I can get a quick release," he said. "I have scored a lot of goals like that so far."
To make sure he emerges from those corner battles with the biscuit, Mazur has been working hard on his board play with Nickel Caps head coach Peter Michelutti.
"I was playing centre at the beginning of the year, but now I'm on the wing more and he's showing me some tricks on the boards and little chips in the middle and off the boards and stuff," Mazur said.
It's part of Michelutti's effort to make the youngster a more complete player, to compliment his already-impressive offensive abilities.
"Joe's definitely one of those players who is a game-changer on our team," Michelutti said. "Obviously, he has some skills that are the reasons the Wolves drafted him. He's got such a quick release and such a hard shot, you could say he has an OHL shot already. It's one of his big advantages and when he utilizes that, he's a threat.
"He has been doing well. We started him at centre, moved him to the wing and we're probably going to move him back and forth this year. Our game plan was if he wants to move on to the next level and get those opportunities, it's always good to be able to play a couple of positions. He has been doing a good job defensively, as a winger and as a centreman, and if he can just keep improving that way and become a complete player, that's one check mark everybody's always looking for going on to the next level, whether it's junior or higher."
Mazur may have had a chance to play junior this year, whether in the NOJHL or another Tier II league, but chose the Nickel Caps for the next stage in his development, and for a chance to play in the Telus Cup.
"That's the biggest stage you can play on at our level," Mazur said.
His audience is sure to include Wolves general manager Rob Papineau, who has already watched the local prospect in action several times this season.
"He's not what you'd call a veteran on a team that's full of veterans and hosting the national championship, yet he's one of the leaders out there," Papineau said. "He's such an intelligent player and he's such as strong kid, he does a real good job of controlling the wall and he's got really good hockey sense and some undercover skill there to really make something out of nothing and make plays. He's progressing nicely and they're doing a really good job on our major midget team of developing him."
Mazur had a solid showing at training camp in September, even scoring in the Wolves' blue and white game. The Wolves sent him home with a lot of positive feedback, as well as instructions to keep working on his skating and speed.
"The league is a big jump up from major midget, so when you get there, you have to be able to play at that tempo," Papineau said. "It's not just being able to keep up, but also getting to a point where you can help push the pace."
If Mazur continues to make progress, Papineau can see him pushing for a roster spot in 2018-19.
Mazur is eager for the opportunity.
"I'm just trying to play really hard and make myself better," he said. "Hopefully, I can get to the next level."
Twitter: @ben_leeson
