Seven straight home games at the Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation Complex coming up
Ontario Junior Hockey League resident writer Ron Valentine is profiling the 2025-26 team captains across The OJ.
BY RON VALENTINE
From Pickering and back…
Charlie Key, a 20-year old forward in his last season of OJHL hockey, is the captain of the Pickering Panthers.
He started his junior career as a Panther and he will end it the same way.
Charlie had 23 points in 32 games last season for the East Conference club. In 2021, he was a sixth-round draft choice of the Owen Sound Attack.
Charlie takes up the story: “I played all my minor hockey for the Ajax/Pickering Raiders, 10 years in total and at the end they gave me a plaque for longest-standing Raider. In 2024 at the deadline I was traded by Trenton back to the Panthers where I had played the previous year.”
“At the start of last season I talked to a good buddy who went to play in the AJHL and so I went to the Whitecourt Wolverines. Whitecourt is a town of only around 9,000 people. It’s a great hockey town, a really well run team and a good organization overall. I really enjoyed my time there but they traded me to the Drumheller Dragons. That’s when I got together with Rob Pearson (former GM/head coach in Pickering) and he asked me if I wanted to come back. I jumped at the chance and never did suit up for Drumheller. So full circle for me and back to my home town!”
“Giving Charlie the ‘C’ was an easy decision. He exemplifies all the traits of a leader. His experience and success in the OJHL is something our younger guys will look to and lean on.”
Charlie has always been a leader: “I’ve worn the ‘A’ throughout my hockey career but this is my first time as team captain and I’m very excited to get the opportunity. I feel I’m an energetic, high-tempo, physical player who loves to create opportunities for my teammates. I want that energy to translate into the room to help motivate the team. I’m not the biggest goal scorer but I’ll take them whenever I can. We have some exciting new talent this season especially with some young blueliners eager to make the team.”
“It’s been great working with our new coach, Connor Armour, we have been helping each other and it is going to be a good relationship. He set all kinds of scoring records in Cobourg and he can relate to the players and it won’t take us long to buy into his way of doing things.”
The head coach on his new captain: “Giving Charlie the ‘C’ was an easy decision. He exemplifies all the traits of a leader. His experience and success in the OJHL is something our younger guys will look to and lean on.”
The Panthers were a much improved team last season moving up from 10th in the East to eighth spot and a playoff position: “We were happy to make the playoffs” Charlie noted “but we had to face the No. 1 team and my old club, Trenton, We switched up our system a little, did some neutral zone trapping and although they beat us in five, they were all close games. It was a little more meaningful to me, perhaps, because of having played for them. This year our first goal is to get into a higher playoff spot and go on from there.”
Charlie is ‘assisted’ by forward Ryder Dagenais and blueliner Josh Brady. Dagenais is an ex-Haliburton County Husky and Brady is a former Ottawa 67.
Pickering was just a point below .500 last season and led by Charlie’s and his leadership group’s energy and enthusiasm, look for the team to keep that upward trend going.
Key has 22 points in 15 games this season. His 12-5-1-1 Panthers are tied for third with Newmarket in the East Conference standings. They travel to Cobourg on Monday and finish off November with seven straight home games at the Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation Complex.
Follow Ron Valentine on X @ronandlynda
