Growing up in the Amidovski family, a hockey game was likely to break out in the basement or on the driveway.
And, well, things were bound to get a little rough here and there.
“It doesn’t happen much anymore, but when we were younger, we always got out the mini sticks and played outdoor hockey games and it used to get a little physical,” Barrie Colts AAA U16 forward Nathan Amidovski said of lining up against his older brothers, Lirim and Aidan.
“We would sometimes play and hit each other sometimes," he told BarrieToday. “At the dinner table, we would always compare ourselves to each other and try to say who’s better. It would be fun, but also competitive.”
Bujar Amidovski, a former goalie with the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs and Toronto St. Michael’s Majors and longtime professional player, would keep a close watch.
None of the three boys was ever willing to give up an inch.
“Nope,” Nathan said with a chuckle.
Asked who the best player really was and Nathan had not one doubt.
"Me,” the 15-year-old Alliston native said without any hesitation.
Who the king of mini sticks was in the Amidovski household may not matter much these days, but one thing for certain is all three are making their mark in the game like their dad did.
While Lirim is in his first season as a forward with the North Bay Battalion and Aidan was a 117th-overall pick of the Guelph Storm in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection, Nathan is expected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming 2024 OHL draft.
He's one of a few U16 Barrie players likely to hear their names called from the powerhouse local team, which is expected to be a serious contender for this year’s OHL Cup title for their age group.
When the OHL first released its top 10 AAA U16 rankings, Barrie topped the list. The recent rankings, released Tuesday, had the Colts dropping to third after being second last week.
“It can’t be bad, but sometimes it can put a lot of pressure on you,” Nathan said of this year’s big expectations. “Sometimes you lose and people start talking, get in your head. Yeah, there’s lots of eyes on us, but that’s good.”
Nathan, along with teammates Logan Hawery, Kent Greer and Alex McLean, lead a Barrie club that should have several players selected in this year’s OHL draft.
“We as a team, and myself, try to not let that into our heads too much,” he said of the pressures that come with having scouts watch your every move individually as well as being a favourite in the OHL Cup rankings.
“I feel like we’ve done a pretty good job to meet those expectations so far, but obviously winning every game you can, or the OHL Cup and big tournaments would make people talk even more, so that would be good," the teen added.
Barrie's U16 AAA team has had its share of adversity early on this season, though. The team, which has several new faces, has taken some time jell and is off to a slower start.
Barrie recently made a move behind the bench firing former NHLer and head coach Darrin Shannon and replacing him with former London Knights and Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) head coach Lindsay Hoffard.
“It kind of came out of nowhere, so we have to adjust to it pretty quickly,” said Nathan. “We just got to get back to playing our game. I don’t think it’s had that much of an effect on our team or players individually. I feel like the coaches have done a good job to jump in quickly, so that’s good.”
One OHL scout who has seen the 15-year-old a lot certainly has him on his radar. He believes the power forward is likely to go in latter half of the first round next April.
“He’s a big body. He skates well for a big kid and has good puck skills, good offensive puck skills,” said the longtime scout. “It’s one of those things you’re looking for if you’re picking a guy in the first round. He checks a whole lot of boxes.
“His size is important, his ability to skate is important, his ability to generate offence is important, so you got all the boxes checked there. I think he’s going to end up being a first rounder for sure," the scout added.
Nathan has certainly tried to take his game to another level, both on and off the ice. He says he’s getting up earlier to better prepare for games and showing up to games earlier like they do in the OHL.
“Going into the OHL, you got to prepare to be more professional, more as a young adult,” he said.
The six-foot-one, 158-pound forward is off to a stellar start with 17 goals and 10 assists for 27 points in just 14 games, but this season’s he’s focused on working hard to be more of a complete player.
“I feel like I’ve been trying to work on my defensive side of the puck, because I feel like most people know I can score and contribute offensively, but everybody can work on something,” Nathan said. “I feel like my defensive game I can work on just a little bit.”
While Lirim has surprised some with his solid start up in North Bay, the OHL scout says it should not be considering his bloodlines and all the important little things he’s learned from his dad.
Those same lessons are being taught to Nathan.
“When you get a six-foot-two kid that can skate and make plays and play the half wall on the power play or in front of the net on the power play, it’s pretty impressive,” the scout said of Nathan.
Nathan’s also learned a lot from older brothers — 16-year-old Lirim and 18-year-old Aidan — about their experiences of going through a draft and playing in the league.
“He teaches me a lot,” Nathan said of his father. “He’s hard on me, but I know at the end of the day it will help me because he knows what’s best and knows hockey.”
It’s expected Hawery will be the first Barrie U16 AAA player off the board when the 2024 OHL draft is held.
“Personally, I love him,” said the OHL scout. “I really, really like him a lot. I think he’s a top-five guy.”
“He’s a magician with the puck,” added the same scout. “He really plays with some fire and jam. He’s equally good at distributing his scoring. He can finish, but he certainly excels at distributing the puck and is great on the power play. I just think he’s a guy you can build your future around and I think he’s for sure in the top half of the first round.”
The Barrie team, which lost 4-2 to Whitby on Sunday night after rattling off four straight wins to start the December, won't play another home game until the new year. They host the York-Simcoe Express on Saturday, Jan. 6 at the Innisfil Recreation Centre. Puck drops at 5:15 p.m. Their next league game in Barrie will take place Thursday, Jan. 11 against the Central Ontario Wolves at the Peggy Hill Team Community Centre, starting at 7:30 p.m.
Nathan believes he and his teammates will only get stronger as the year goes on and they get used to playing with one another. The AAA team needs to put aside all the distractions.
“A lot of the discussion has been about losing some league games, but it’s just the expectations are really high,” he said. “People are going to talk and we’re still getting used to each other. More than half our team is new. We have a great group of guys.”
With the OHL Cup the big prize, Nathan believes a win there could put a cap on what can be a special season for the AAA Colts.
“If we can do that, it would be really big."
