Masen Wray is hoping to follow in the footsteps of this dad and his brother.
The 6'1", 160 pound forward has been having a solid year with the North Bay U16 AAA Trappers, who sport an 8-2--0-2 record in the Great North Midget League before the Christmas and lockdown pause.
Wray leads the U16s with 8 goals and 5 assists for 13 points in 12 regular-season games.
"I like to help the team generate offence and help my team as much as I can to get the big 'W' if we need one," said Wray.
"When I play centre I like to think defence first before I think of offence and I like to be the last on out of the zone just so we can generate offence quicker and as soon as I play to win, I like to push the pace forward to get the puck in the zone and just to generate offence like I have been saying."
Wray was born in Amarillo, Texas when his father Scott Wray was playing professional hockey there with the Amarillo Rattlers of the Central Hockey League.
The talented forward's family moved to North Bay in 2014 and Masen has been playing with this 2006 age group of Trappers players' ever since.
With older brother Owen Wray being a Battalion draft pick currently playing with the Powassan Voodoos, and his father Scott currently an assistant with the North Bay Battalion, this Wray hopes to become the third member of his family to be drafted in the Ontario Hockey League.
"It is such a great opportunity for me to look back at how my dad played and how far he has gotten and it is pushing me to achieve more than that and it has been great to learn from him over the years of watching him and just now that he's the coach he teaches me little things that I need to work on in my game and it is helping me out so much," said Wray, whose father Scott was drafted in the fourth round, 55th overall by the Owen Sound Platers in the 1996 OHL Priority Selection.
Masen Wray even had the opportunity to play his first junior hockey game as a call-up with the Powassan Voodoos. It was the same night his brother Owen Wray put in a solid performance in a 2-1 win over the French River Rapids just before the break.
He's looking forward to getting back to hockey after the pause. He says he models his game after Flames star Matthew Tkachuk.
"The thought of him being able to score and be a gritty player is amazing to me because that is basically what I am. I like to get into scrums and I can score a lot like he does," said Wray.
OHL scouts are taking notice of this young Wray.
"Wray comes from a family with hockey pedigree, he is a quality skater, who possesses high-end speed and loves to play the game with pace," said one OHL scout.
"He protects the puck well and uses his speed to separate himself from defenders. He has the ability to make plays in tight and the offensive awareness to deliver a precision well timed pass when needed. At the midpoint of the season, he has set himself up to potentially be one of the earlier players selected from the GNML in this year's OHL Draft in April."
Wray hopes those scouting continue to take notice.
"I will give myself the opportunity to show how good I can be and how good of a player I can be towards them and in the big league."
See his scouting video below:
