Kingston Frontenacs GameDay March 3, 2017

y Doug Graham
Kingston Whig-Standard
Nathan Dunkley has had a season of learning and
adapting his game to the Ontario Hockey League.
Dunkley, the first pick of the Kingston Frontenacs in
last April’s Priority Selection, has turned it into a solid
rookie season.
Dunkley, who turns 17 on Sunday, is Kingston’s
fourth-highest scoring forward with 26 points in 49
games. Head coach Paul McFarland likes the way
Dunkley, a native of Campbellford, has progressed.
“He’s done a good job of getting better each month
of the season,” McFarland said.
“The challenge for Nathan is he’s got to play against
top-six forwards every night so he’s going to have to be
at his best to make a difference.”
Dunkley understands that it has been a process for
him throughout the grind of a 68-game OHL regular
season.
“I thought I’ve learned a lot so far this season. There’s
still obviously lots to learn as you grow in the league,”
said the five-foot-11, 185-pound forward.
“I always try to work my hardest (and) create chances
that way. Create some space for other guys getting in
on the forecheck.”
McFarland said consistency is the key for every
young player. They have to learn to prepare for games,
eat properly and get their rest leading up to a game.
“Nathan is getting better and better at preparing.
When he is prepared, he is ultra competitive and he’s
one of our better players,” McFarland said.
“Nathan’s biggest asset is his competitiveness.
When he is playing his best, he has the puck the whole
game because he wants it. When he is touching the
puck good things happen either for him making plays
or other guys are open because he is getting there first.”
Dunkley and McFarland both agree there is more to
come.
“He’s got to continue to be more and more consistent.
I think there’s a lot more there,” McFarland said.
“He’s 16 years old. There’s a lot of room to grow.”
Dunkley has five goals and 21 assists and his plusminus
figure -- he was a plus 1 in February’s dozen
games when he had seven points -- continues to improve.
Once Warren Foegele was moved in a trade,
Dunkley was one of the players to take over taking faceoffs.
Sam Harding and Ted Nichol, both right-hand draws,
are first and second in faceoffs while Dunkley, who is
a left-hand draw, is at 52.9 per cent success with 292
wins on the draw.
“I feel I am getting better and learning lots. It’s a good
start. I think I’ve got more to learn. Points will come as I
grow and learn more,” Dunkley said.
“We pride ourselves on playing good defensive hockey.
We don’t cheat the game. We try to play the game
(properly) and that’s been our success.”
The Frontenacs appear to be headed to being a team
that doesn’t score an average of three goals a game (under
184 goals for), ranking last in goals scored in the
Eastern Conference with 149 in 60 games.
However, the Frontenacs also rank No. 1 in the Eastern
Conference for fewest goals against with 178.
“There has been lots of tight hockey games, lots of
low-scoring games. That’s kind of our mentality. Win
with hard work and good team play,” Dunkley said.
The Frontenacs go into Wednesday’s game in Oshawa
against the Generals with a one-point advantage
over the Hamilton Bulldogs for fourth place in the Eastern
Conference.
“The last nine games will be a grind but we’re battling
for home-ice advantage. We’ve got lots to work for
and we’re prepared,” Dunkley said.
The Frontenacs have won two straight and McFarland,
in particular, likes the way his team played in Sunday’s
3-1 win over Hamilton.
“We’ve got to bring that preparation we had Sunday
to each and every game. Finishing the game, we looked
like a team that wanted to win the game,” McFarland
said.
“The number of block shots we had, the number of
50/50 pucks we came up with. Just the nature of being
able to play four lines, six (defencemen). Everyone
contributed,” he said.
“(Liam) Murray goes off for the 10-minute misconduct.
Other guys stepped up that had to play a little
more down the stretch. That’s just great to see.”
For full coverage of the Kingston Frontenacs read The Kingston Whig-
Standard’s home edition or read it online at www.thewhig.com
© 2016 The Kingston Whig-Standard. This article was originally published
in The Kingston Whig-Standard. Reprinted with permission.
OFFICIAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM, VOLUME 44, 2017
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