Sure, Nolan Gardiner is happy to be home.
But the veteran forward didn’t join the Chatham Maroons just so he could be back in Tilbury.
He wants to go out a winner in his final junior season.
After losing in the Sutherland Cup final last season with the Caledonia Corvairs, he wants to raise the trophy next spring with the Maroons.
“My first goal was I was looking to win this year,” Gardiner said. “I thought this gave me the best opportunity. Just having family and friends (at games) is kind of an added bonus.”
Don’t get him wrong. He’ll be happy to see them in the stands at Chatham Memorial Arena, but he’ll be even happier if they’re watching the Maroons win.
“It’s definitely very exciting to be at home,” he said. “It’s good to have the family and my friends come around and watch a lot of games. We’ve got a good group here, too. I had friends (on the team) before I got here, so it’s pretty nice.”
Gardiner, who turns 20 on Sunday, brings Ontario Hockey League experience to the Maroons.
He had eight points and 31 penalty minutes in 69 games with the Ottawa 67’s, who drafted him in the 10th round in 2014.
Maroons head coach Kyle Makaric expects him to be a difference-maker on the ice and in the locker-room.
“Gardz obviously is as hard-nosed and as gritty as they come,” Makaric said. “He’s always first to the puck, he’s got a real good stick, he can finish, too, and he’s an excellent guy to have around.”
Gardiner will be an assistant captain for the Maroons. Makaric is counting on him to set an example.
“If these guys can follow the way that Gardz handles hockey day to day and his attitude towards it, we’re going to have a lot of these young players develop into good locker-room guys,” Makaric said.
Gardiner played one junior ‘C’ season with the Wheatley Omstead Sharks and one junior ‘B’ season with the LaSalle Vipers before sticking with the 67’s in 2016-17.
He totalled 26 games last season with the 67’s and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar before landing in Caledonia.
“I don’t mind being on the road,” he said. “It was a little crazy last year because it was three teams, but I’ve kind of been all over the place for forever.
“It wasn’t that big of a deal for me to come home, but it was just kind of perfect that it was a good opportunity to win and then I’d be at home, too.”
Gardiner took pride in being an agitator for the 67’s, but he was more of a scorer for the Corvairs. He had 19 points in 17 games in the regular season, then added 17 points in 20 playoff games.
He played late in the season on a line with Sean O’Brien and Eddie Schulz. All three players were acquired by the Maroons in the off-season.
“We all wanted to win this year and we all wanted to play together, so it’s just kind of perfect the way it worked out,” Gardiner said.
Makaric plans to keep them on the same line to start the season.
The trio showed what they can do Tuesday by combining for two goals and six points in a 5-2 exhibition win over the Sarnia Legionnaires.
“The three of them work so well together, the way they pass and the way they communicate and just the familiarity,” Makaric said.
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