Jeff Carter used to tag along to watch his dad coach players half his age, if only to hang at the rink for an hour or two.
Teaching 7-year-olds on skates often resembles babysitting 7-year-olds on skates. But that’s not always so in London, Ontario, where hockey dreams are practically mixed into the water. That is where Jeff first saw Drew Doughty, his younger neighbor from around the corner, playing for Jim Carter’s North London Nationals.
There was a swagger in Doughty’s game that caught the boy’s attention. It would not be the last time.