Nate Misskey - pictured left (submitted photo/Nate Misskey)

By Ben Tompkins

Melfort local

Former Mustang attends Edmonton Oilers Development Camp

Jul 7, 2023 | 5:00 PM

A northeast product recently got one step closer to making his hockey dreams come true.

Nate Misskey, who was born and raised in Melfort, spent this week in Edmonton attending an NHL Development Camp for the Oilers.

The 18-year-old was one of only five defencemen and 12 players in total that were invited to the camp.

“It’s a great experience to be invited to something like that, especially by the Oilers, an awesome organization there too, they really showed me how it is and my main challenge was how dialled in you have to be to play the game there,” Misskey told northeastNOW.

“It’s really eye-opening when you see it in real life, it was an awesome experience for myself, and I picked up a few things I now put into my own routines.”

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The development camp included lots ok skill training, gym work, strength and endurance testing, and more.

(Submitted photo/Nate Misskey)

To get the chance to walk the blue line, and showcase where his footwork was at during on-ice testing, in front of a professional hockey team was nothing short of special for Misskey.

“Hard work, you’re never going to expect to get the opportunity, you’re going to hope it comes to you and you just gotta work hard throughout time to get there. We had a season in Victoria there that could’ve went a bit better for the team, it was unfortunate for us, but it was just awesome for myself to get noticed by the Oilers and get invited to camp.”

Misskey spent this past season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Victoria Royals, posting 14 points (five goals and nine assists) in 65 games.

He also has previous experience with the Prince Albert Mintos, registering a combined 40 points over 53 games, in two seasons there.

And, while he only suited up three times in a Stangs uniform (twice being in the playoffs), Misskey stated it did play a part in his career development.

(Photo courtesy/Melfort Mustangs, Broad Leaf Media)

“I didn’t get very many games but when I played, just that extra level coming from Junior A there, it really helped my game. Just the speed that I needed to be at, the physicality, everything kind of, just needing to up my game, and know what I needed to focus on, I just got work with that.”

The six-foot-two, 190-pound backend has three years of draft eligibility ahead of him and is hopeful to improve a lot this fall when he returns to Victoria for another season.

No doubt in his mind, this camp definitely gave him things to think about as he continues his offseason, bringing more to the ice when the time presents itself.

“We have lots of guys that got drafted or even went to development camps, so kudos to those guys too. I think we’re gonna be a great team and have a lot of experience coming into next year, and I think we’re gonna be a team that’s gonna get noticed by lots of people,” Miskey explained.

“It’s gonna open many doors for me, get recognized a little bit more here, it’s a great experience for myself and coming back into the summer here when it’s done, just focusing on what I need to build on for my season next year, and hoping to get more looks by then.”

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8