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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, D ecem ber 2 3 , 2 0 1 6 | 2 2 Kevin Nagel Oakville Beaver Sports Editor knagel@burlingtonpost.com S p o rts "Connected to your Community " Tough Saginaw Spirit blueliner aids OHL team on and off the ice By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Tyler Sagl of the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders bursts past a pair of Notre Dame defenders as he goes in for a layup in Tuesday's Halton senior boys' high school basketball game. Aquinas came into the game with an 8-0 record and though they led most of the game, Notre Dame staged a fourth-quarter rally, going on a 17-3 run to win 59-53. Despite the loss, the 8-1 Raiders still share first place with the Bishop Reding Royals. | photo by Herb Garbutt - Burlington Post (follow on Twitter @herbgarbutt) Every player arrives at training camp each year looking to find a role on a team. Robert Proner knew what the Saginaw Spirit expected of him on the ice, but the 17-year-old rookie soon inherited another role off the ice as the unofficial interpreter for Czech Republic teammate Filip Hronek, a Detroit Red Wings draft pick. Hronek came to Saginaw this year after being selected in the Canadian Hockey League import draft. Proner has been doing his part to make him feel a little more at home. "I introduced myself right away," said Proner, who was born in Presov, Slovakia and moved to Oakville with his family when he was four. "He was in a new coun try, he got a bunch of paperwork, I just tried to help him out until he learned English better. I speak fluently at home so it was cool to have someone to talk to. It was al m ost like having family there." Though there are differences in the Czech and Slovak languages, they are close enough that Proner could help Hronek communicate with coaches and teammates. That no doubt helped ease the transition for his fellow defenceman, who is third in scoring for the Spirit. On the ice, it's not m uch differ ent. W ith two goals and an assist in 23 games, Proner' s contributions might not be obviously apparent, but it' s the things that don't show up on the stat sheet that make him a valuable player. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound blueliner has done those things -- de livering a hit and playing a tough game in his own zone -- that he has drawn the attention of scouts and earned him a place on NHL Central Scouting' s watch list for next year's draft. Proner was rated as a B pros pect (second or third round pick) on the preliminary list in October, though he slipped to a C prospect (fourth to sixth round) when the second watch list was released in mid-November. Considering most of the players he is compet ing against had the advantage of playing in the OHL as 16-year-olds -- he played nine games with Sagi naw but spent most of last season with the Jr. B Cambridge W inter Hawks -- Proner was happy to catch the scouts' eye. He has already m et with several NHL teams, including one that came armed with a 187-question test that took an hour to complete. "It' s such a weird feeling. You grow up dreaming about it, hop ing for it," he said. "W hen you sit back and take it in, you walk out of a meeting and you think, `I just talked to an NHL scout.'" Proner has yet to be able to show the full range of his abilities. Play ing on a team with three NHL draft picks on its blueline, there have been few special-team opportuni ties for the rookie. But he is taking this season to learn from the veter ans while also demonstrating he'll be ready to take on more responsi bility when those players move on. "You learn a lot and it pushes you to get better," he said. "It defi nitely makes you work harder on all those little details, things like your gaps, getting your stick on pucks, communication. It elevates your whole game." And while he' s working to estab lish himself as a strong defensive presence in Saginaw, Proner has dis played an offensive element to his game. He finished third in team scor ing with Cambridge last season with nine goals and 29 points (18 of them on the power play) in 4 7 games. Proner used to pattern his game after Chris Pronger -- "a tough, solid defenceman who can pass and get shots through." But just like the subtle differences in their last names, Proner said his game is also distinct as it has continued to evolve. "I like to think I've developed m y own unique style," he says. Proner will have to wait and see if that game translates to the next level. Hearing his name called in the draft would be a step in the right direction. 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