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Ahead of Draft, 'Focused' Testa Competing at OMHA Championship

By Jori Negin-Shecter, 03/21/22, 7:15PM EDT

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Niagara North Stars forward has 'ton of skill'

Luca Testa’s beginnings in hockey are like those of so many other young players who fall in love with the game.
 
At age four, Luca’s father Massimo started him in youth hockey, where he quickly showed a tremendous feel for the ice. By age six, Testa’s athleticism had propelled him to a spot on his local rep team, despite his teammates being eight years old.
 
“Because he started so early, it really reduced the pressure on us as parents because we were there just enjoying watching him get better. And we could tell he was getting better,” Massimo said.
 
Within two years, as an eight-year-old, Testa was able to earn a spot as a forward on the AAA Niagara North Stars, where he has since developed as a player and leader for eight seasons. 

Now just a few weeks shy of his 16th birthday, Testa is in the midst of one of his most successful seasons to date while captaining his North Stars club. 
 
His play has caught the eye of scouts who describe him as a “bulldog.” They praise his exceptional shot which led the SCTA U16 loop in goals with 34, 10 more than his closest competitor. 
 
Not to be outdone, he also led the league in points with 59. Testa even scored a pair of goals in a brief one-game call up to the GOJHL, a Junior B league that features players as much as five years his senior.
 
“I like to drive the puck to the net for sure. I use my body, size, and strength to my advantage,” Testa says “I think I have a good shot so I use that a lot.”

Testa’s leap in play has also been in no small part due to the tremendous work ethic that he says he learned to harness over the past few years. He’s fiercely competitive and determined to be the best player on the ice.
 
“I hate losing, and that's something that I really developed over the pandemic. Just playing street hockey or pickup basketball with my family and friends, and that translates over to my work ethic,” Testa says.
 
Coach Ryan Berard, who has worked with Testa for four seasons, including two as the Niagara North Stars’ head coach, believes his captain’s work ethic and leadership abilities are just as much a factor in the team’s success as his on-ice results.
 
“I think his biggest role is just holding everyone accountable with his work ethic and his intensity at practice and in games. You watch a player like him who has a ton of skill, but he doesn't ever take a day off,” Berard says.

Berard also explained that Testa had an exceptional ability amongst his peers to build connections and motivate them off the ice as well. 
 
“People are drawn to him,” he says. “He's got an outgoing, energetic, life-of-the-room type personality, where you're just drawn to that energy.”
 
His father Massimo sees the attitude and motivation his son brings to the rink and to the people he surrounds himself with and understands how much hockey means to Luca.
 
Massimo recalls one story of a hockey tournament his son participated in that took place in Chicago.

“Luca does not like to travel, because he wants to be with his friends,” Massimo said, chuckling. As a result, the family had to take the opportunity in between Luca’s games to sightsee the city and turned what was initially a hockey road trip into a family vacation. 
 
It’s that commitment, combined with the tremendous support and sacrifices of his family and friends, that have been fundamental in propelling the Grimsby, Ont. native to where he is today.
 
Testa acknowledges that those around him have supported him from the get-go. His school friends are always understanding of the time commitment necessary for high-level hockey. His twin sister Vanessa, herself an accomplished soccer player for Hamilton United of the OPDL, always has his back when the intensity ramps up.
 
These factors together have some pegging the youngster as a potential first-round selection in the upcoming OHL draft. For Testa, however, he’s not concerned about any of the outside noise at this time.


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“My dream has always been to play in the OHL… it’s something I’m looking forward to in the near future, but for right now, I’m focused on the goals of my team and working for that,” he says.
 
Berard, however, envisions even bigger things in the days ahead for his star pupil.
 
“He is the whole package,” Berard said. “In my mind, he's got pro written all over.”


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jori Negin-Shecter is a student in the Sport Journalism program at Centennial College. Follow him on Twitter @jorins_

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