The Rookies: Training Camp Is Here
Brady Pataki (#9 white) on the ice at his first OHL training camp with the Sudbury Wolves. This photo was taken by his mother, Mary Jo Pataki, before Pataki’s family headed back to Wallaceburg.
For Wallaceburg’s Brady Pataki and Chatham’s Joseph Raaymakers, their first Ontario Hockey League (OHL) training camps came with a move more than 6 hours from home, as Pataki is slated to play for the Sudbury Wolves, and Raaymakers with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Despite the changes, both rookies were excited to finally step on the ice with their respective OHL teams, who selected them in last April’s OHL Priority Selection Draft, at their first training camps.
“Training camp was a great experience,” said Pataki, a power forward who was drafted by Sudbury in the 4th round, 65th overall. “I think my favourite part was just soaking in what I could from the vets,” continued Pataki of his first OHL camp.
“For my first junior training camp it was a great experience and a lot of fun,” said Raaymakers, a 2nd round selection by the Soo Greyhounds, 33rd overall. “The best part about it was meeting the team, vets, and also realizing that guys that were drafted to the NHL are playing with you.”
Raaymakers will start the season as the Greyhounds’ backup goaltender, and could find himself stopping Pataki’s shots as an opponent this season in the OHL, only months after playing as teammates, helping the Chatham-Kent Cyclones Minor Midget ‘AAA’ team to the OHL Cup semi-finals, and suiting up for Team Alliance at the OHL Gold Cup.
Excitement aside, training camp also came with the difficult task of saying goodbye to family, moving into new homes, and starting new lives miles away from home.
“There was a little bit of an adjustment period, but my billets are great and I’m grateful to have a billet family like mine because they’ve made me feel at home here and I’m definitely comfortable,” explained Raaymakers of moving in with his billet family in Sault Ste. Marie, and saying goodbye to his parents.
Along with the pressures of performing during training camp to earn a roster spot, starting in a new school, and competing at the OHL level, the adjustment to leaving family can be a challenge for OHL rookies. With the opportunity to play in one of the world’s best developmental leagues, and chase their NHL dreams however, it is a challenge Raaymakers and Pataki are more than willing to face.
“It was kind of weird at first,” said Pataki of saying goodbye to his family to start a new chapter of his hockey career. “Usually you would go home with them, but this time they had to leave you be at the arena. I was a little lost for words but this is what I’ve always wanted for myself.”
“The Rookies” will be a season long feature following 16-year-olds Joseph Raaymakers and Brady Pataki as they enter the Ontario Hockey League. The Rookies will chronicle what it’s like to be an OHL rookie hours away from home, for two Chatham-Kent hockey players. We’ll follow all aspects of Raaymakers and Pataki’s lives, both on and off the ice, throughout their rookie seasons. Chatham’s Raaymakers, a goaltender plays for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, while Wallaceburg’s Pataki, a forward, plays for the Sudbury Wolves.