Life in the British Columbia Hockey League agrees with Nathan Free.
In Free’s first 16 games since his Brooks Bandits joined the BCHL from the Alberta Junior Hockey League, the forward had posted a team-high 19 points. The 5-foot-9, 145-pounder is second on the team in goals with 10. He is one goal behind 2003-born Hunter Wallace and one goal ahead of former and now-again BCHLers Mirko Buttazzoni, who played for Coquitlam and Alberni Valley, and Parker Lalonde, who skated with Powell River.
With six points over two games, Free was named the Alberta Division Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 18. He was also featured on the BCHL Mar. 1 podcast.
“The BCHL has been great — every game is real tight,” said Free, who is in his second junior season. “It feels really good.”
Before the Bandits joined the BCHL, Free was fifth on the squad in scoring with 44 points. He was third in goals with 22.
“He is extremely offensive,” noted Bandits assistant coach Dakota Mason. “He is one of those guys where when the puck is on the stick, there is a good chance that something dynamic is going to happen.”
“I’d say we have a small handful of guys that have the shot to score with no screen, no traffic. He can beat a goalie one on one. I think that’s a God-gifted talent that he has. He can shoot the puck quickly, he can shoot it hard, (and) he can be accurate with it.”
“In a one-on-one situation with defenders, he (can) make guys look very silly,” continued Mason.
Free makes strides
When the Bandits moved to the BCHL, the 2006-born forward had already surpassed the 13 goals and 35 points he posted in his 16-year-old AJHL rookie campaign. Last season, Free was named Brooks’ Most Improved Player.
“He took massive steps with his compete, with his positional play, (and) his play away from the puck, which led him into being able to play some higher minutes for us this season,” Mason said.
Praising Free’s hockey IQ, Mason expressed that Free has learned how to be successful at a young age in junior hockey. “There’s tons of times that I forget he is only 17 years old right now. He’s a very impressive hockey player for sure.”
Free’s success and ability have now turned heads in two leagues. However, Mason indicated some aspects of the forward’s game are underrated.
For one — his speed.
“He has to be one of the fastest players on our team. There’s a chance he might be one of the fastest players in the whole BCHL too,” explained Mason.
While Free is lighting the lamp this season, he helped his teammates succeed as Mason lauded his quality of character and passing ability. “I think that’s one thing that kind of goes unnoticed about his game – his ability to bring defenders out of lanes and put pucks into those lanes for his teammates.”
Brooks now, State College in the future
A Calgary, Alberta product, Free likes many aspects of playing for the perennially strong Bandits.
“I’ve enjoyed all my teammates,” he said. “Everyone who comes to Brooks has been great (and) the hockey is awesome. Playing with great players and against great players in practice makes me a lot better. (It’s) just the atmosphere around the room. We (have) a great atmosphere, a great rink, competitive practices, great games. It all has been really good.”
In 2022, Free was an affiliated player with the Bandits and joined them for the trip to the Centennial Cup national championship in Estevan, Saskatchewan. He watched and learned as the team won the title. Last season the Bandits claimed the national championship in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.
“It was a cool experience, and it prepared me for the next year,” Free said of being an AP as a 15-year-old. “When we got to go back and I (was) on the team for real, it was cool. It was a great experience, and it was good to win it.”
In September of 2022, Free announced his commitment to Pennsylvania State University. The school’s men’s hockey team competed in the NCAA Division I national tournament in 2023 as well as in 2017 and 2018. Free says Penn State was the first team to show major interest in Free and to offer him a scholarship.
“I felt more at home with them because they gave me my first real shot. It seems like a great program, great coaching staff, great school,” said Free, who is undecided about his future academic focus but is leaning toward enrolling in the school’s respected Smeal College of Business.
World Junior A Challenge gold medalist
Free was one of six Bandits who helped Team Canada West win the 2023 Word Junior A Challenge in Truro, Nova Scotia. In an all-Canadian showdown, Canada West beat Canada East 7-2 in the gold medal game. Free’s Bandits teammates who also cracked the Canada West roster were Logan Sawyer, Ty Mason, Mathieu Taillefer, Dylan Compton, and Johnny Hicks. Free had four points in the tournament.
“Winning it for sure was cool, especially some of the competition we were against (like) Team USA with their roster. They were stacked (that) year,” Free said. “It was awesome meeting a bunch of new guys that I played against for the year — maybe (we) had some bad relationships on the ice — but I got to be friends with away from hockey. (It was a) great spot (in) Truro. The rink was great and the whole experience altogether was just amazing.”
It was the first time since 2017 that Canada West won gold. It was also the first time since 2011 that two Canadian teams battled in the championship game. In addition to the Canadian squads, the tournament included teams from the United States, Sweden, and Slovakia. The American team included six players selected in the 2023 National Hockey League Draft as well as one taken in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Fun in Sweden
The Bandits had a short summer as they headed over to Sweden this past August to compete in the U20 Super Challenge. Brooks beat France 8-3 to win the championship.
“It prepared the guys for the regular season,” Free said. “I feel like we got a head start on some of the (other) teams and it was a great start to the season. It was just super fun all around. Sweden was great and the games were great. It was cool playing international competition.”
The Bandits dominated the event, which also included teams from France, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Austria and Italy. They went 5-0, never trailed, and outscored the opposition 32-9.
However, the team did have to do some adapting overseas. Free said it had to adjust to the bigger Olympic-sized ice and a more puck possession style of game. “(There was) less physicality because there’s more open ice and it’s easier to dodge hits,” he explained.
