Donnie Harris, arguably one of the best defencemen on the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs this season, recently sat down with the Nouvelle. He talked about his journey in hockey so far: from starting at the age of eight in Fort Ashby, West Virginia to arriving here in Bonnyville, and his plans to continue his career next season at the University of Alaska-Anchorage.
Donnie grew up playing basketball in the small town of Fort Ashby, West Virginia. He managed to find his way onto the ice of a local recreation centre at the age of eight, which effectively began his career in hockey.
He soon realized he had some natural talent for the game.
“I started off doing it for fun, and I learned a lot of it on my own,” said Harris about how he gained some of the skills he relies so much on now.
Donnie played at the recreation centre during the winter months, but he kept practicing all year-round at home in his parents' basement.
“My parents left, what at the time seemed like a big section of the basement, concrete for me to play on.”
He said he would wear his rollerblades and mostly practice his shot in the basement.
“Now the area is so small, it seems like you can take a step and be on the other side.”
He began playing organized hockey soon after taking to the game. He played for the Pittsburgh Hornets for his first seven seasons – even playing under Hall of Famer Joe Mullen at one point.
It was clear early on that Harris had skills and a passion for the game and wanted to do more than just have fun with hockey. “Maybe I can do something with this,” he said, repeating his thoughts as a young player.
Even early on in his career he had aspirations of playing professional hockey.
“I think that every kid that ever laced up a pair of skates wants to play in the NHL. I haven't met a lot that don't,” he said.
As an underage major midget player, Harris was already noticed on a regular basis for his skills on the ice.
He was invited to play on a team from Salt Lake City in a prospects tournament first in Toronto and then in Boston. It was on this team that he first met one of his mentors in hockey, his coach at the time, Rikard Gronborg.
He returned to play in Salt Lake City for the remainder of the season and then was drafted in the first round by the Omaha Lancers of the USHL, a tier I junior hockey league in the United States.
“There is a lot of talent that comes out of that league,” said Harris. “I went there thinking I was ready, but mentally wasn't right there, physically I was.”
It was that uncertainty that left Harris in and out of the lineup until the end of the season, at which point he returned to Salt Lake City to play for Gronborg a second time.
Harris said he was much happier returning to Salt Lake City to play. “It was a really good experience, I had a lot of fun there my second time around.”
Then at 18 years of age, Harris had another decision to make: where to play the next season.
“I had a lot of teams scouting me from the USHL and BCHL,” said Harris.
But it was on the advice of his coach that Harris made what he calls his “best career decision.”
Gronborg knew both Chad Mercier, the head coach and GM of the Pontiacs, and assistant coach Ryan Pollock, from their earlier hockey days. Gronborg also knew that the program in Bonnyville was strong; so, he suggested to Harris that he go check out the community and the team to see what he thinks.
“(Gronborg) said it would be the best place for me to come, that it would be a good fit.”
After visiting the town and meeting with the Pontiacs coaching staff, Harris said, “I knew within a few hours I was going to stay here.”
Harris said he likes the structure of the program and the accountability the coaches hold the players to.
“There is a great coaching staff here, they go after it every day, you have to buy into it right off the bat.”
Harris said he had some preparations for this type of hockey program, although he admitted, “It was a step up.”
Last season Harris had some success with the Pontiacs, racking up 18 points and playing in 58 games, but this year he has grown into one of the leaders on the team and is a force on the blue line.
Harris sees the entire team as stronger this season. “I think we're doing pretty well. We have a really good group of guys this year, I don't think I have ever been around a team where everyone gets along so well.”
He added, “I think if everyone puts their minds to it, we go to work every day and work hard, fight through everything, I think we can do something special that has never been done here before…We want to win a championship.”
The Pontiacs have 20 regular season games left before heading into the playoffs.
“We know what we have to do, now we just have to stay focused and go out and do it,” he said. “And it is easy to keep focused. There are not a lot of distractions here,” he added with a chuckle.
But Harris feels the town deserves some playoff success and a championship would clearly be welcomed.
“I think Bonnyville is one of the best places to play junior hockey. Everybody is really close and the community is really behind you…I can see it even more this year than last year.”
Without looking past this season and its possibilities, Harris has made some significant plans for the future.
Earlier this month Harris committed to attending the University of Alaska-Anchorage next year. The university has a division I hockey program, which Harris has been interested in for a few years now and looks forward to joining.
“I was first recruited by them when I was 15 and I've seen them play in person a few times,” said Harris.
“(University recruiters) talked to me last year. They called me again this year. They started talking about the academic side of it…then they said they were going to offer me a scholarship.”
Harris explained, “I didn't expect to be committed this early…but everything kind of fell right for me.”
He said it was not an easy decision, with several other schools and hockey teams recruiting him.
“I took a different approach to this, I looked at the overall picture. I didn't look for the biggest name school, I wanted the best fit for me,” he said. “Just to better myself, whether it be in hockey or academically; that's what I'm going up there to do.”