King City teen is off to Windsor

By Robert Belardi

The Windsor Spitfires selected 15-year-old King City native Nicholas De Angelis, 36th overall in the Ontario Hockey League draft a few weeks back.
The feeling of excitement and joy steadfastly led to utter relief for De Angelis and his proud family.
“Well first of course, there was excitement and then there was relief just because it was stressful the entire week,” the young defenceman explained.
His agent said to him the Spitfires were very interested. He expected to be drafted by Windsor and is thankful he didn't fall past the second round in fear of the difficulty of making the roster.
De Angelis has had quite the season with the GTHL Mississauga Senators as captain and as YRAA champion with the King City Lions to boot. Not a bad way to enter the OHL after years of hard work and dedication to the sport.
De Angelis began playing house league hockey at four years old in King City. He excelled instantly, and went to play with the NobleKing Knights Novice team one year above his age group with head coach, Danny Macedo.
He began playing as a winger initially, while idolizing former Stanley Cup champion Jeff Carter. He grew up a Philadelphia Flyers fan and enamoured Carter's game. De Angelis says, he is still unsure why he geared towards Carter in the first place.
“I started playing out as wing and then halfway through the year, he (Macedo) moved me to defence,” De Angelis said.
For the duration of the season, De Angelis played both positions, thwarting offence threats away from his own goal and creating offensive chances of his own.
Following his tenure with the Knights, De Angelis says, he tried out for the Richmond Hill Coyotoes AAA side as a permanent defenceman. He succeeded.
His head coach, Andrew Shorkey, meticulously analyzed De Angelis's talents, and quickly, began to develop his game further. De Angelis credits Shorkey for the player that he has become today.
“He was my first defence coach and I would have sessions with him every week. He taught me a lot about being a defenceman,” De Angelis explained.
Once he had developed further, the Mississauga Senators garnered an interest in De Angelis and the King City native had no hesitation in joining their team.
Simultaneously, it was also a time where another choice had to be made. The young man had to pick a high school and chose King City Secondary School as his destination.
He knew the hockey program was successful. His older brother played for the team. He didn't solely base his decision off the hockey, however, knowing former NHL players wore the King City shirt and knowing head coach Bradley Matwijec, suggested this was the right decision for him.
De Angelis says playing against older players in high school matured him. He won back to back titles with the school and says, Matwijec shaped his game and is part of the reason why the program finds so much success in hockey.
“He helped me shape my game. He's a great coach. He cared a lot, you can tell he really cared in the hockey program.”
Now, as a defenceman, De Angelis tries to model his game after Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly and Buffalo Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dhalin.
Heading out to Windsor doesn't frighten the young man. Even living with another family, should he make the roster, doesn't send nervous jitters through his body. He knows he will have to be dependent on himself, in which he says, he is eager to learn how to be.
As for the hockey, he knows the OHL is a tough league. He hopes to crack the roster later on this year with camp expected to be held between August and September, in front of a passionate fan base.
“I know Windsor has a very good fan base, they're very passionate about their hockey there. I expect it to be a pro setting, for me, playing in front of a couple thousand people a night. As well, I expect my game to develop hopefully in the coming years and get drafted into the NHL.”