Screenshot
Robert Fisher
Staff Reporter
EDMONTON – Arnprior native and former Renfrew Wolves player Connor Clattenburg is getting the chance to live his hockey dream in Edmonton.
The NHL team recently called Clattenburg up from their Bakersfield, California affiliate and he has been making the most of his opportunity, scoring his first NHL goal in his second game in Edmonton.
Coming from a small town, the difference between playing in a local arena in front of family and friends and playing in an arena with 18,000 screaming fans is huge.
“Full of goosebumps,” he said, about stepping on the ice in Alberta. “It’s quite the experience just to go from such a small arena, small town … then coming into
the NHL.”
He said he likes to feed off the energy of the crowed and it makes him a better player. “Hearing them in the background just gets me going even more.
“It’s just a really cool experience to have that opportunity to play in front of so many people.”
He wasn’t expected to be drafted and was travelling to Los Angeles on draft day to take part in a training camp there. “Right before I got on the plane, I found out I was picked,” by Edmonton. “It was pretty crazy.
“Just to hear my name called and talk to my parents, it was honestly the best thing in the world.” Following up the draft with getting the call up to play in the NHL keeps the dream going. “I couldn’t wait to tell my parents, just because of all the support they put in all the time and effort.”
Being able to score his first goal in just his second game is another career milestone he’s excited about. “It was just, kind of, the right place at the right time,” he said modestly. “It was just unreal. I just totally blacked out,” and couldn’t hardly believe what was happening.
Clattenburg hopes his experience and his story can help younger players, too. He wasn’t necessarily the best player in his minor hockey days, however, he kept trying and perseverance paid off.
“As I started to grow into my body and it just all connected. You just can’t really give up on it. You never know what the future has in store for you.”
Even for players who don’t make it beyond local minor hockey, Clattenburg said they should enjoy it as much as they can and take as much from the experience as possible.
That is what he is doing in his time in Edmonton. He doesn’t know if he will remain with the NHL club or be sent back to the minors and he’s trying to make the most of the opportunity.
“I can learn from all of them,” he said of his teammates, who include players like Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “Seeing their composure and their posture,” and the way they carry themselves and conduct themselves on and off the ice is helpful to Clattenburg.
“How hard they work, how hard they work in the gym. Just the leaders they are. It’s all things I can take and learn from it.
“I can also take it back to Bakersfield or wherever I am and hopefully help younger guys, too in the future.
“It’s the best development I can get.”
robert@thevalleygazette.ca
About the Author
