North Bay Battalion’s Brett McKenzie ready for any role in Troops’ transition: Making The Jump

Brett McKenzie is planning to pick up some jam when he hits the ice with the North Bay Battalion.

The passing and spatial sense that McKenzie displayed last winter with the OHL Cup-champion Oakville Rangers set him apart from other big-bodied forward prospects. The 6-foot-2, 194-pounder elicited comparisons to Dallas Stars prospect and Team Canada alumnus Brett Ritchie. With the Battalion, he'll be joining an organization whose calling card under coach Stan Butler is a well-structured, check-till-the-cows-come-home brand of hockey. In McKenzie's mind, being a dues-paying rookie is conducive to learning to complement his evident strength and skill with a higher compete level in puck battles. That might mesh well with any designs the Battalion have on making the refurbished Memorial Gardens a tough place for visiting teams, not unlike in the Centennials' heyday.

"They're not just physical but they're a defensive team, so that will definitely help my defensive skills," says McKenzie, whom the Battalion selected No. 10 overall in April's OHL priority selection draft. "I know have I have offensive skills but I need to improve in my end. Putting that together will definitely help me in the future.

"The biggest areas I need to work on are definitely my hands and definitely my physical attributes," adds McKenzie, who hails from Vars, Ont., a village of 1,000 people west of Ottawa. "If I had those I'd be a better all-around player and people would be scared of me so I could go into the corners more to get the puck... I'll try to play my game and put that in as well."

McKenzie believes he will become a more physical player at the OHL level. Playing that role wasn't required of him in Oakville, where he counted 38 goals and 102 points in 63 games.

Fittingly, the top pick of a team which is in a new city has already experienced relocation. Brett's parents, Kevin and Nancy, moved him to Oakville for his minor-midget season, with his mother staying down in southern Ontario during the season. Now Brett McKenzie is eager to be full-fledged junior with a team which would love to stretch out the honeymoon phase in North Bay for as long as possible.

"It's going to be a good thing," McKenzie says of being part of the Battalion's maiden season in North Bay. "At rookie camp in June, there were so many fans already."

1. When did you realize you were past the point of hockey being a game to you, that this now had to be approached as your job?

"Maybe my second year of triple-A hockey, in major bantam [with the Eastern Ontario Wild]. That's when I knew I had some talent and had to push myself to get better... Just everyone telling me that I had improved over the year and pushing me to get better. That helped me."

2. Which NHL player(s) do you study closely since he, or they, play a style close to what you hope to do at that level?

"Probably Jordan Staal or Eric Staal. They're each two-way centremen, which I would like to be when I'm older, which I think I am right now. They both know how to see the ice well and put the puck where they need to be, as well as finish and score. They're both good all-around players, which I would like to be.

"When I was younger, I also looked at Mike Fisher. He's also a really good centreman. He skates well. I think he has some of the same attributes I have, but he's more physical."

3. Outside of your parents, who is someone you credit for helping you get to this point?

"Luc Frechette, whom I've known since I was two. He used to be my coach. I'm really close to him so I can ask him about a bunch of things and he's always there for me to help me get better. When I was younger he really helped me a lot.

"He always told me to visualize and practise things in my head. I still have a card from him that says I'm a 'tiger' and I'm always aggressive and have speed. Everything he did for me really improved my game."

4. If hockey did not exist, what sport can you see yourself playing?

"Definitely soccer. I played up until two years ago and I played at fairly competitive level."

5. Favourite TV show or movie?

"Step Brothers."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.