First Nation centre impressing with his 200-foot game during rookie Junior A season

By Sam Laskaris

POWASSAN – The brass of the Powassan Voodoos was confident that Owen Head would be able to make some solid contributions during his rookie junior season.

But Head, an 18-year-old member of Nipissing First Nation, is exceeding expectations in his first year with the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) club.

Head, who plays centre, has earned 17 points, including eight goals, in his first 29 games with the Voodoos.

“He’s had a great first year and he’s in the top nine [forwards],” said Voodoos’ general manager Chris Dawson, adding his club does have numerous older players on the squad. “So, I think he’s definitely probably going above the expectations we had for him in the first half.”

Head said he entered the season with a goal of earning at least 20 points in his first year with the Powassan club.

“That was one of my goals,” he said. “It’s looking like I’ll pass that.”

Head had spent his final minor hockey season with the North Bay Trappers Under-18 AAA team. He averaged more than a point per game, collecting 31 points in 29 regular season outings.

Head was also called up and played one NOJHL match with the Voodoos last season.

“We always kept a close eye on Owen,” Dawson said. “He affiliated with us last year. We always saw him as a guy who played a real honest 200-foot game. [He’s] a player who can contribute offensively, as he’s showing.”

Head has more than held his own in the NOJHL, a Junior A circuit featuring players as many as three years older than him.

“I think one of the biggest things for young players is being able to compete against the older players,” Dawson said. “And he has no fear going into the corner to get a puck whether he’s going up against a guy his same age or a 20-year-old. It doesn’t matter.”

Dawson added Head’s efforts have led him to playing a bigger role with the Voodoos.

“I think that he came in knowing that there was a chance that he would be playing the year, spending most of the time in the bottom six [forwards],” he said. “We have a team that’s made up of a lot of 19-year-olds and a handful of 20-year-olds. I think he’s just ended up impressing the coaches and forced us to use him higher in the lineup because of his effort and his attitude. And he never quits out there.”

Though he has seen action with various linemates during the course of the season, at times, Voodoos’ head coach Peter Goulet has found himself inserting Head on what would be considered Powassan’s second line.

Head said the club’s bench boss had not promised him a certain role at the start of the season.

“Coach Pete was kind of honest,” Head said. “He was like as long as you work hard, you could get that. He was going to put me on the third line or the fourth line. But I guess I kind of proved myself.”

Head also likes the fact he gets to live at home while playing for the Voodoos. Powassan’s rink is about a 60-minute drive from his home in Garden Village.

“It’s nice,” he said of the fact he’s playing close to home. “I still get to see family. And I see a lot of my friends still.”

Head had graduated from high school this past June. He took a year off from his studies to focus on his hockey career.

But he’s planning to apply to the criminology program at North Bay’s Nipissing University soon and then hopefully commence his post-secondary career.

If accepted, he plans to take part-time classes, preferably mostly online, so he can continue playing in the NOJHL.

“A couple of the boys are doing it this year,” he said of his teammates who are taking university classes. “I’ve kind of asked them how it was. They said it was a little bit busy.”