A handful of onlookers sat scattered about through the stands of Canton Ice House’s Red rink last Friday night. It was Day 1 of the latest Beast Event and the Boston Junior Eagles U16s were taking on the Seacoast U16s.
If the small contingent of people on hand were polled about which players they noticed making an impact most, Nate Porter’s name would’ve been at or near the top of every response. The center registered a goal, commanded the game and had a strong impact at both ends of the ice.
It’s been that way all fall. It’s no accident.
The Hingham, Mass., native went anywhere there was ice he could skate on this summer. He spent a week in Montreal training with Quartexx Management — his agency.
“They were training kids older than me, junior guys,” Porter said. “It was fun.”
When he got back, he made the trek to Buffalo to compete in the USA Boys Select 16 national camp. Porter put up two goals and four points for Team Gray, leading his team in scoring and earning a spot in the All-Star game.
“That was big for me,” he said. “I had a good time there. Thought I did well.”
Porter has jumped onto the fall scene, playing at over a point-per-game pace, with boatloads of college interest.
“Nate’s got everyone and their brother talking about him right now,” Dan Donato (Dedham, Mass.), Porter’s head coach at Dexter Southfield, said.
Sean Keohane (Milton, Mass.), Porter’s teammate with Dexter Southfield and a Harvard commit himself, isn’t surprised to see the 16-year-old lighting it up.
“He’s always been a super talented, skilled kid,” Keohane said. “To see him take off this year is awesome. He’s super shifty on the ice. He’s so hard to defend and he’s well deserving of all the looks he’s getting. He’s unbelievable.”
Porter has college looks from everywhere — the big Hockey East schools, the Ivy’s and interest from outside the region.
“The phone has been ringing off the hook a little bit with colleges,” Donato said. “I had one Ivy League coach say to me that he’s the best player that he’s seen all fall.”
Porter can’t talk to schools until Jan. 1. That doesn’t mean he’s unaware of the buzz surrounding his game.
“Obviously I know some schools have interest in talking to my agent and stuff,” he said. “I think that I just have to stay above it. Just like keep it in the back of your mind and don’t talk about it or anything and just kind of keep it close and use it as motivation and confidence, saying ‘If all these schools want me to play for them, then I’ve got to keep showing up because it’s a long way until I’m going to play for them.’”
Porter’s biggest test will come when his prep season at Dexter Southfield begins in late November.
While Dexter Southfield boasts a veteran core of defensemen, Donato’s team is young up front with its forwards. It will be a collective effort from a slew of players to produce offensively.
Porter knows what his role must be.
“I want to be one of the top players on the team,” the center said. “Offensively, I’ve got to be able to produce and it can’t just happen at the beginning of the season and trail off. It’s got to be better and better and more points and more points as the season goes on if I want to stay at the top.”
Porter spent time on the varsity team last year as a freshman, posting five goals and nine points in 17 games. He knows what life is like in the grind that is prep school hockey.
Unlike his games with the Junior Eagles, he will spend the winter playing against mostly older and bigger guys. But his time posting his name all over the scoresheet in fall hockey will give him one big advantage.
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“The fall is where our skill guys gain a lot of confidence because it’s a little harder to score when the puck drops in late November for our season,” Donato said. “I think it’s a good thing. I like that skill development.”
Porter has skill in spades. The 5-foot-10, 161-pound center watched a lot of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews with the Chicago Blackhawks. Recently, his NHL viewing time has included lots of Auston Matthews with the Toronto Maple Leafs as well.
“I was a huge Blackhawks fan growing up and I think I do my best to almost emulate stuff like Kane and stickhandle like he does and his vision is pretty good and the leadership of Toews,” Porter said.
Once the clock strikes midnight on 2023, Porter will begin spending lots of time talking with colleges who will roll out the red carpet for him.
Despite there being no shortage of schools ready to do that, Porter has a goal in mind when evaluating each one of his options.
“I want to win a national championship,” he said. “I think if I can do that, it’s pretty special. I think there’s a lot of teams that have the ability to do that and I think I want to go to a team that can win one and obviously make me better and better and hopefully the NHL one day — that’s the ultimate goal.
“I still don’t know if I want to stay here and play college or go to the midwest and play Big Ten or whatever out there.”
Along with winning a national championship, academics will also play a big role in what school he ultimately picks.
“My parents and I care about academics,” he said. “It’s above hockey to them. I’ve got to go to a good school so there’s tons of options out there about the perfect balance of hockey and school.”
As for how it will feel when the day comes to finally put pen to paper and make that decision?
“I think it’ll be satisfying,” Porter said. “I’ll feel relieved like phew, hopefully this will all be over. I hope I have my school and ride with that until the end. I’m looking forward to it.”
