Nathan Amidovski plunging into rookie campaign after hot preseason start
Three members of the Ottawa 67’s scored multiple goals during the preseason schedule: two veteran players, Chris Barlas and Caden Kelly, and rookie Nathan Amidovski.
Among rookies, Amidovski finished the exhibition season tied with the third most goals, doing it in four games, with only Saginaw Spirit forward Liam Campbell doing it in fewer appearances.
It’s not quite his better-than-goal-per-game pace he set last season with the U16 Barrie Colts, where he scored 40 in 33 games, ending the campaign with 69 points, but it’s something tangible. Amidovski’s scoring prowess was evident a season ago, potting another five goals in five OHL Cup games, but even the best have found difficulties translating that to the OHL level in their first season.
It’s a building block, even if the goals won’t show up on his stat line at the end of the season. It’s something Amidovski says has helped build confidence, and an affirmation that, yes, his skills are good enough for junior hockey.
“It felt a lot different than last year,” Amidovski said. “I scored a good amount of goals last year, and coming in and scoring a couple of goals in the preseason is obviously a great feeling. I think I can continue that throughout the season.”
Even with players away at NHL camps, the OHL is a different animal than minor hockey. It’s a big adjustment for young players, and with only four games to come to grips with your new surroundings, you don’t get much time to get comfortable with everything.
Amidovski feels he did as good of a job as possible given the circumstances, and feels well enough prepared to host the Niagara IceDogs tomorrow night.
“It was mostly getting used to it, getting used to the teammates, coaches, our systems and all that,” Amidovski said. “I got the nerves out of me, too. Now, it’s just trying to get prepared for this game coming up on Friday, and the rest of season.”
Friday night won’t be his first experience in front of the home fans in Ottawa, with over 3,000 people attending the preseason game against the North Bay Battalion a week ago.
“That was great,” Amidovski said. “Obviously, there was a ton of people here for a preseason game, and the atmosphere was really good. It felt really good.”
In that game, the Alliston, Ontario native played on a line with Kimi Körbler and Filip Ekberg, but one day later in Cornwall, he played with Jack Dever and Caden Kelly. The lines have been juggled around, but the youngster feels comfortable with all of his teammates.
“I think it’s been great,” Amidovski said. “We’ve been mixing up the lines in the preseason games and in practice, so I think I’ve got used to most of the players, and I think anybody that they put me with, I’ll be good with.”
Though scoring is something Amidovski wants to be able to contribute, he has a good understanding of what he’s up against. If that’s not in the cards, he’ll find other ways to help his team win.
“I just want to be the best player I can,” Amidovski said. “I’m a pretty offensive player, so I want to succeed offensively, but I also want to be great away from the puck and be an all-around player. That would be my biggest goal.”
