Maximus Crete made the most of his opportunity at Niagara IceDogs Orientation Camp Saturday.

The 16-year-old Ottawa native scored a pair of goals in the morning scrimmage and was easily one of the most noticeable players on the ice at the camp which featured a mix of the previous U16 and U18 draft selections, in addition to various free agent players.

“It felt great,” Crete said. “Obviously, I was looking forward to this. It was pretty cool to get on the ice with these guys and getting to meet them, talking to them. Just getting to know them and playing with them was awesome.”

Crete said a tip from his older brother, Gabriel Crete, paid off.

“He got drafted (Ottawa) and he went in there and almost made the team so he gave me some tips on what to expect. He told me just to play my game and keep confident and be the player I am and it worked out well,” Maximus Crete said.

Maximus Crete, who was selected in the second round (30th overall) in the recent 2024 Ontario Hockey League draft, certainly stood out as far as IceDogs head coach Ben Boudreau was concerned.

“He’s made a great first impression on the head coach,” Boudreau said. “He looks like an absolute steal out there. But more so than his ability to make great plays, he has a great shot. I noticed the little details in his game like winning face-offs. We didn’t have anybody that was a standout as far as dominating the face-off circle and I noticed Max dominated the face-off circle at every opportunity. 

“Outside of the noticeable skill and talent that he has, there was a lot of intangibles in his game that stood out.”

Boudreau was also impressed with how Maximus Crete handled himself off the ice.

Click here to read the full article on BP Sports Niagara.