PROVIDENCE, R.I. ”“ There are show horses and there are plow horses, and you can count Garnet Hathaway solidly among the latter.
A hockey show horse would dance around the defense, the make the pretty pass or the gorgeous finish.
And you need show horses.
But you need plow horses like Hathaway, too. Guys who will make a puck carrier think twice about zipping through the neutral zone. Or holding the puck a second too long.
You make a play, you’re going to pay, as long as Hathaway, a Brown University freshman right wing, is on the ice.
“We don’t need him to stick handle in a phone booth,” said Brown coach Brendan Whittet, who recruited the Kennebunkport native out of Phillips Andover. “I need him to take pucks wide. Drive the net. Finish his checks.”
And finish them he does.
With glass rippling authority.
Witness the series of hits that Hathaway dished out in a recent game with Colgate.
More than one Raider was left wobbly legged after being stapled to the boards by the 6-2, 200 pounder.
“He’s a big boy,” said Whittet, “and he’s only going to get bigger and stronger.”
The strength part comes from having a Division I weight room at his disposal.
But there is confidence, too, one that has come with each shift.
“I think it takes time,” said Hathaway. “It’s a lot faster than in prep school. I’ve just gotten used to it.”
Hathaway said he has thrived under the hand of Whittet, a former Bear himself who is in his second year at the helm.
Whittet has often used Hathaway on his top line to create space for top scorers Harry Zolnierczyk and Jack Maclellan.
“He’s much more responsible on the defensive side of the puck,” said Whittet, who recently began trusting Hathaway with penalty killing chores. “He’s become much better about knowing when and where he can do things on the offensive side. He’s become much more aware of what his strengths are. He’s definitely gaining a lot of responsibility, but it’s responsibility that he’s earned.”
Said Hathaway, “It’s a great confidence boost. Coach did everything he promised. When I was looking at school, he said, I was going to have an opportunity to play. I worked my butt off, and they gave me an opportunity. Just like they said.”
The Bears aren’t looking to Hathaway to fill the net and his offensive contributions were slow in coming.
He didn’t record his first varsity goal until Jan. 2, then popped in four in a six game span.
Hockey fortunes being fickle, however, he finished the regular season with just one goal in his last 11 games, and none in the last five.
“That first one is always the hardest,” he said. “Once I got that, I got more comfortable. I got a couple lucky bounces here and there. I’ll get another one soon, and get back on a roll.”
That roll may have to come next year, since Brown is on the verge of elimination in their ECAC playoff series with Quinnipiac.
If so, Hathaway will spend the spring and summer getting stronger, fiestier, and ready to make an even bigger impact as a sophomore.
“For the college career,” he said, “I think I’ve gotten off to a great start. I’m excited about the whole journey.”
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