Ben Portner has been a force all 200-feet of the ice this season for the Battlefords North Stars, playing a key role in the team's success this year. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Making an Impact

From unknown to unstoppable: Ben Portner’s journey to SJHL stardom

Jan 25, 2024 | 5:00 PM

Equally adept at threading the needle on a pinpoint pass, scoring the puck himself, or stealing it off an opposition stick, there may not be a more well-rounded threat in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) this season than Battlefords North Stars forward, Ben Portner.

Currently fourth in the SJHL scoring race with 51 points (20 goals, 31 assists) in 36 games, the Lakeville, MN., product has been especially hot as of late, having torched the league for 10 goals and 16 points over his current five-game multi-goal tear.

However, while the offensive numbers in and of themselves suggest a piece of Portner’s incredible value to the North Stars this season, what they don’t show is the centerman’s equally elite play on the defensive side of the puck, mixing physicality and a quick stick with astute on-ice awareness.

“He’s good on both sides [of the puck] and he’s good at getting the puck out of our end and zone entries,” head coach of the North Stars, Brayden Klimosko said. “It just shows he’s got an all-around game which you’re going to need at the next level, and he’s got to be getting looks at the college level now.”

That defensive acumen has developed into a fundamental piece of Portner’s game over the years as he’s continued to climb the hockey ranks. It’s now just as synonymous with the 19-year-old’s game as his #18 or his crafty stickhandling ability.

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“He’s very slippery and hard to defend, and then he’s got a really good stick in the d-zone and he can strip the puck from you at any time,” linemate and SJHL scoring leader, Kian Bell described. “The first day of practice the coaches told me we think the game alike, and Ports really reminds me of Jake [Southgate] from last year. They play the same style of game.”

“As a center, you’ve got to get into those corners and you’ve got to earn the puck before you do down and get some offense going. It starts with the defense.” – Ben Portner on his philosophy defensively. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

What makes Portner’s ascent to junior hockey stardom perhaps most impressive this season, has been his largely unknown value to the Battlefords heading into the fall.

After starting his junior career with the Twin City Thunder of the NCDC (National Collegiate Development Conference) in the United States Premier Hockey League last season, scoring 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in 41 games, Portner set out to fulfill a personal goal this year, following in his brother Riley’s footsteps to venture north of the border for the next stage of his hockey journey.

“My brother played previously in Canada, with Selkirk [of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League], and he’d always tell me to come up here and try it out, so I gave Wylie [Riendeau, head scout of the North Stars] a call and he invited me to camp,” Portner said with a smile creeping onto his face. “I’m happy with the decision, and I’m glad I did.”

Klimosko added that because Portner had reached out to the team and came to camp on his own accord, with no guarantee to even make the roster, he has truly earned everything he’s gotten on his way to making the team out of camp and shortly thereafter, establishing himself as a mainstay on the team’s top forward line.

“It’s funny because really, we didn’t know anything about him,” Klimosko said, thinking back to the start of training camp. “He just wanted to come to camp, and not getting promised anything, to see where he is now is unbelievable. I was telling Wylie and Chilly (asst. coach Garry Childerhose) That might not happen again. He’s done it all through hard work.”

Recognized for his impact with the North Stars this season, Portner is one of eight Battlefords’ players who were recently named to represent the league at the upcoming SJHL/MJHL Showcase next week in Winnipeg.

Portner and his North Stars teammates will return to action this weekend for their biggest test yet this season, when the Stars host Flin Flon for back-to-backs Friday and Saturday night. It will mark the first two games between the league’s top two teams since last year’s SJHL Final.

Both Friday and Saturday’s games will be available on 1050 CJNB, with the Ultra Print Pregame Show at 7 p.m. and puck drop to follow at 7:30 p.m.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1