Evan Nicholson has done nothing but win since joining the Fort Erie Meteors.
The 16-year-old Toronto native arrived in Fort Erie in mid-November which coincided with the start of a 19-game winning streak for the Mets. Nicholson played a big part in that streak, giving the Meteors a legitimate second centre behind league scoring champion Sam Tonelli.
Nicholson, who collected 14 goals and 30 points in 34 games for Fort Erie after beginning the season with the Kitchener Rangers, netted a goal in his first junior playoff game as the Meteors edged the Brantford Titans 3-1 Saturday night at the Leisureplex in the opener of their Greater Ontario Hockey League, best-of-seven quarterfinal playoff series.
Nicholson’s goal came with the man advantage at the 12:40 mark of the third and gave Fort Erie a much needed insurance marker.
“Yeah, it was huge,” Nicholson said. “We had a couple of power plays in the game and it was really clicking.
“I saw an opening, went for it, had a great pass from (Dylan) Greenwald.”
Nicholson, who was selected by the Rangers in the fourth round (83rd overall) of the 2025 Ontario Priority Selection, has fit in like a glove with the Meteors.
“I showed up here, I didn’t really know anyone and I was a little nervous,” Nicholson said. “The group was amazing. They brought me right in.
“We all had that huge (winning) stretch. It brought us really close to each other.”
Nicholson feels playing significant minutes in his first season of junior has been a big boost to his development.
“I’ve been playing lots and that comes with just me working hard,” he said. “I’m getting opportunities just from working hard, and just want to keep it going.”
Nicholson said a month with the Rangers and seven games of action has whetted his appetite to get to the next level.
“It’s unreal, especially as a 16-year-old,” he said. “Just being up with those guys and the NHL talents and the development from the coaches, just everyone.
“It was just unreal.”
Fort Erie head coach/general manager Nik Passero loves what Nicholson has brought to the Meteors.
“Yeah, he changed our season. We get him and we went on a 19-game streak. I think he’s lost three games this year. When we got him, it was huge for us down the middle. We were looking for that extra help, and we bring him in and it’s been great.”
Passero said the Rangers have been pleased with Nicholson’s progress.
“They’re excited for him. They put him here, they trust us, and they trust him to come down here and work hard,” Passero said. “He’s getting 17-18 minutes a night, and he’s playing hard.
“He’s such a great kid. He works hard. He knows what he wants to be. He wants to be a pro, so it’s easy to work with guys like that.”
The Meteors led 2-0 after one period and 2-1 after 40 minutes.
“We started off flying really good early and then second period, got in a little bit of penalty trouble and got a little frustrated there for no reason,” Passero said. “I think in the third period we got that big goal there by Nicky on the power play. Power play was clicking, just couldn’t find the net and then for us to score off the rush there, was great.”
Passero said he left the motivation as the playoffs kicked off to the leaders
“My message doesn’t matter,” he said. “The message is the group. You know, with that leadership group, I’m just auxiliary. We had a lot of good meetings and they figured it out and we’re good.”
