Orr wants young stars to block out distractions

SASKATOON — Defenceman-turned-agent Bobby Orr has simple advice for standout junior players like Aaron Ekblad and Connor McDavid.

“Play your own game. You’re being rated for a reason — the way you play, your accomplishments,” said Orr, who counts both players as clients. “Don’t worry about it. Do your best and you’ll be fine. Don’t change your game.” Then he paused. “And stay off the Internet.”

Orr was in Saskatoon on Friday for the 54th annual Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Dinner, along with Saskatchewan Roughrider John Chick and 1972 Team Canada forward and Dennis Hull.

Orr would not take questions about fighting in hockey, the future of the NHL’s Olympic involvement and any of today’s issues in the NHL.

Considered one of the best players in hockey history, Orr has two Art Ross, Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup trophies on his resume from his days with the Boston Bruins. He was also the MVP of the 1976 Canada Cup.

But before moving on to the pros, Orr left Parry Sound, Ont., in 1962 to play for the Oshawa Generals, a junior team then owned by the Bruins. He was 14 years old.

Almost instantly he was viewed as a can’t-miss star.

Ekblad and McDavid — two players on Canada’s national junior team last month — have similar pressures.

Both were granted exceptional status to play in the Ontario Hockey League a year early.

Ekblad, a defenceman, is considered a consensus topthree pick for the 2014 NHL draft. McDavid, a centre, is expected to be the top choice next year.

The scrutiny is fiercer today than it was when Orr played.

“The kids can’t do anything, any mistake. We’re keeping close (watch) on our kids,” said Orr, the majority owner of The Orr Hockey Group. “There’s pressure. They won’t stay away from the Internet. We all know on the Internet there’s a lot being written. There are haters.

“Everybody didn’t like me. Everybody doesn’t like them. Today it’s there and the kids won’t stay away from the Internet. We encourage them to do so.”

Orr believes the best way for a young player to alleviate pressure is to enjoy the game.

His memoir, Orr: My Story, was released in October. Orr said that was his main message from the book.

“There’s a lot you can learn from it, how you should act, what you should do if you have that next Wayne Gretzky or Sidney Crosby,” he said.

“People would come to my father and say, ‘Your kid is going to play in the NHL.’ My father’s advice to me was, ‘Go have fun, play the game and we’ll see what happens.’

“I know that’s the best way to do it. I hope more parents and friends think like that.”