The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 30 ,2 01 7 | 42 SPORTS Visit theifp.ca for more coverage 312 GUELPH ST., GEORGETOWN 905-877-2296 www.georgetowntoyota.com Saturday Dec 2nd, 2017 7:30 pm at Mold-Masters SportsPlex Georgetown Raiders vs. Oakville Blades Upon first spotting Jaden Condotta skating with the Georgetown Raiders in the warmup, one might imagine the di- minutive defender could be confused for the minor hockey kid chosen to bring out the Canadian flag for the national an- them. Kidding aside, the five-foot-five, 130- pound rookie's play this season has shown he not only belongs in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, but has next-lev- el potential, according to Raiders' head coach and general manager Greg Wal- ters. "He's a unique player and his hockey sense is very high for a 16-year-old," said Walters of Condotta, who has six assists this season and is one of just three Raid- ers who have played in all 27 games. "We have a special player on our hands. Jaden makes plays under pres- sure, sees the ice extremely well and his stick in D-zone coverage is exceptional. He's very good right now and he'll be a high-end player if he grows like his brothers did. The sky's the limit." The Grade 11 Christ the King Second- ary School student said he's grown a couple of inches this year and that four seasons of playing a year ahead of his age group at the AAA level in the Greater To- ronto Hockey has helped him keep his footing among the redwoods. He also picked up two assists in three appear- ances as a call-up of the Raiders last sea- son. Condotta usually plays in defending- league-champion Georgetown's third defensive pairing and is seeing more ice time now that veteran Andrew Cords- sen-David has moved up to the forward lines. "Playing against the big guys doesn't bother me because I've been doing it my whole life," he added. "If guys are trying to run me, I just play my game and don't worry about it. Just try not to make mistakes and I'll be successful." Former NHL defenceman Dale De- Gray, now general manager of the On- tario Hockey League's Owen Sound At- tack, was impressed enough with Con- dotta's efforts as a minor midget with the Toronto Titans to select him in the fifth round of this past spring's draft. Condotta fared well in the Attack's rookie camp and was invited to attend the club's main group in August, al- though at this stage in his career he's leaning toward taking the NCAA route. "You keep your options open, but I'm a late bloomer and that's probably a better place for me to develop than the OHL," he said. "(The Attack) want me to grow and develop here in Georgetown and I think I'm doing that. I just think school is a better fit right now." The Condottas are well known in GTA hockey circles. Twenty-year-old brother Lucas is in his final OJHL campaign and is putting up all-star stats as captain of the Mark- ham Royals with 17 goals and 25 assists in 28 games. The six-foot-two, 205-pound forward recently committed to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell RiverHawks for next season. Twenty-three-year-old brother Mat- teo, at six-foot-two, 215 pounds, played three seasons in the OJHL with Or- angeville, Pickering and Hamilton. Dad Joe, who coached the Bramalea Jr. A Blues at one point and his three boys in minor hockey, is the godfather of Dallas Stars' star centre Tyler Se- guin. The Condottas hosted a Stanley Cup party in Georgetown in 2013 after the Brampton native won the NHL championship with the Boston Bruins. As for imminent family matters, Ja- den and the Raiders are set to travel to Markham Friday to take on Lucas and the 15-10-1-2 Royals in their lone regu- lar-season meeting this year. Jaden said he's been looking for- ward to the contest for weeks and isn't concerned that big brother might run him over. Georgetown resident Condotta on the rise with Raiders Local native Lucas Condotta (centre) poses before practice with his Georgetown Raiders' teammates Andrew Cordssen-David (left, 6-foot 5) and Jacob Payette (6-foot-7). The 5-foot-5 Condotta has earned a regular spot on a veteran-laden Raiders' blue line and he'll get a chance to play against his older brother Lucas and the Markham Waxers this week. Eamonn Maher/photo EAMONN MAHER emaher@theifp.ca