NEWS

(pictured - Georgetown Raiders captain Steve Hladin currently sits atop of the league scoring race with 58 points and looks to lead his club on a lengthy post-season run - photo credit:  Shawn Muir/OJHL Images)

You will be hard pressed to find a more decorated player in the OJHL than current Georgetown Raiders captain Steve Hladin. After beginning his OJHL career with the Vaughan Vipers in 2011-12, Steve has spent the past three seasons playing with the Georgetown Raiders, where he has developed into one of the best offensive threats in the league. A two-time participant in the Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge, and a former member of Team Canada East at the World Junior 'A' Challenge, there isn’t much he hasn’t accomplished at the Junior 'A' level.

The accomplishments don’t stop there for the 2013-14 1st Team All-Star. He was the OJHL Gongshow Gear South-West Conference Player-of-the-Month in October of 2013 and runner-up for the award in September of this season. On Monday night he would score his 100th career OJHL goal after picking up his 200th career point earlier in the season. To top it all off, less than 24 hours after scoring his 100th goal, he would suit up for the OJHL ’94 select team as they played an exhibition game against the Canada East Selects prior to this years World Junior 'A' Challenge. All Steve did in that game was score two more goals and add another assist.

What kind of Captain do you get from all these accomplishments, as well as 163 games of regular season experience and 31 playoff games worth of experience? One that has lead the Georgetown Raiders to its current spot atop the South-West Conference and the #14 spot in the CJHL Top 20 rankings. A captain who helped lead a Georgetown Raiders team, who on paper were weaker in 2013-14 than 2012-13 and took them one round deeper in the playoffs, ultimately losing in the conference final to the eventual league champion Toronto Lakeshore Patriots.

In Steve’s words he is, "More on ice. Someone who leads by example but is comfortable enough to step up in the room and say something. I feel a big part of leadership is what you do on the ice.”

There is no one perfect way to lead. There are those who are vocal, those who are quiet, but work diligently, and there are those who go out of their way to stick up for their teammates on the ice. There is one characteristic that all captains must have and that is to make their teammates better. Help them to be in a position to  play their best. Sometimes that is leading by example or knowing when to say the right thing to motivate them. When you look at the results of the individual players on the Georgetown roster the last two years, one thing you can say is that under the on-ice leadership of Steve Hladin this group is not underachieving.

With arguably the best team he has been on during his OJHL career, expectations are high for these Raiders. With a second round playoff exit two years ago and a conference final appearance last year, what have they learned?

“You learn a lot from losing,” said Hladin before adding, “It comes down to the dressing room going into the playoffs and staying on top of things.”

For a player who is in his final year in the OJHL he is determined not to allow this opportunity to pass him bye.

Having committed to play hockey next season at Sacred Heart University for the Pioneers, it is a weight off his shoulders and has allowed him to play this season with a clearer mind with that decision already made.

“A lot of guys in this league, that is what they want. They want to get school offers and I was no different. When I did that at the end of last year it took a lot of weight of my shoulders and it allows me to focus on being a leader and taking care of myself and doing everything I can to help them win.”

When watching Steve Hladin you get the impression that the best has yet to come for this young man. A prolific scorer who currently sits atop the OJHL scoring race with 58 points in 29 games. He has helped put the Georgetown Raiders in a spot to contend for a league title with a 20-4-3-4 record. He is a player who is focused on the big picture.

When talking about some of his more notable personal achievements this year he said this, “Coming into this season I knew I had the opportunity to get to both of those (100 goals and 200 points). It wasn’t really a focus of mine, but production was, so it was nice to get those.  It has been a good couple of years.”

Peter Kneulman covers the OJHL West Division for In The O... and more articles by the author can be found at intheoradio.com. In The O...goes beyond conventional coverage of junior hockey providing unprecedented coverage of Minor Midget, OJHL, CCHL and the OHL.