Opening statement
A junior journeyman who played for three different Ontario League trams, defenseman Mark Cantin brings an especially enriched postseason resume to the Bruins organization. He spent two-and-a-half years with the Belleville Bulls (opposite PK Subban), made a cameo with Taylor Hall and the Windsor Spitfires and finished up in Mississauga.
In that time, Cantin saw action in a grand total of 69 major-junior playoff games. He made four straight trips to the OHL semifinals, put in three appearances in the league championship and won both an OHL and a Memorial Cup title in 2010.
2010-11 Highlights (With Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors)
· Led the team’s defensemen with 10 regular-season goals. That was four more than he scored in each of his first three major-junior seasons combined.
· Tied for 13th among all OHL blueliners with 41 regular-season points, despite missing seven games.
· Took only one penalty over 13 games (a five-minute fighting major) in the month of January.
· Had a cumulative plus-10 rating in seven games during the month of March.
· Scored six assists in 20 playoff games as the Majors reached the Robertson Cup Finals.
· Assisted on two goals, including a power-play equalizer at 18:09 of the third period, as Mississauga overcame a 3-0 deficit to win in overtime, 4-3, and finish a second-round sweep of the Sudbury Wolves.
2010-11 Lowlights (With Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors)
· Finished the regular season on a five-game pointless skid and had only one assist over the final nine games of the homestretch.
· Accumulated a minus-3 rating over a Jan. 21-23 home-and-home set with the Niagara IceDogs.
· Took 23 of his 70 regular-season penalty minutes within a span of 11 games between Feb. 4 and Feb. 27.
· Took four minor penalties within the first two games of the Robertson Cup finals.
· Was on the ice for two opposing goals, including the overtime clincher, as the Majors lost Game 7 of the Robertson Cup finals to the Owen Sound Attack.
2011-12 Outlook
If the contrasting listings are any indication, the 6-foot-1 Cantin has padded on eight pounds over his junior career to bring his weight up to an even 200. With that continued physical growth and all of the growing he has doubtlessly done through abundant winning and losing experiences, he needn’t have trouble embracing any degree of expectation in Providence. He should pose a hefty challenge to the likes Colby Cohen and David Warsofsky for ice time.
