This season, the 20 year-old native from Perrysburg, Ohio is in his second season and has become one of the catalysts for the Springfield Junior Blues and their high-potent offensive attack.
At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, Josef has made himself become a top-line threat, and a fan favorite around here in the state capital. He is as dedicated to the game as anybody that I have seen personally, and is a physical, hard-nosed forward that can find the open man with the puck from anywhere on the ice. Also, don't forget that he is also a guy that can put the puck into the back of the net from time-to-time as well.
Last season as a rookie, Pontasch played in 15 games for the Saint Louis Bandits, and just two with the Junior Blues. Before being traded here to Springfield, Pontasch totaled up thirteen points for Saint Louis. He had eleven assists and just two goals, but even more impressive was the fact that he was at +5 on the ice. Following the trade to the Jr. Blues, in his two appearances, he scored one goal and had no assists. No matter the stats, Josef's passion, size, and skills showed a lot of promise for his future.
This season Josef has become what everyone had seen and hoped for from him. Despite the Junior Blues starting this season out a little slow due to injuries early on, now that they are getting back to full strength, the team is starting to turn heads from the rest of the league. Just like last season, coach Joe Dibble and the team started slow, but went on a run to end the season--except this season, this team has a lot more talent than they have in years. A big reason? Josef and Joe DIbble, himself.
"Coach Dibble is a players coach. He is approachable and honest with all of his players." said Pontasch in an interview. "Instead of being standoff-ish, he is a hands on kind of coach who likes to get involved on a personal level with the players. It makes it easy for us to want to go out and give him our best every game."
"I have a lot of confidence this season from being a veteran in the league," he said. "Having found a place to play where I am comfortable, and I also worked hard in the off-season on some key aspects to my game."
As of right now, Pontasch and his Jr. Blues team is currently in third-place in the Midwest division. They are five points ahead of Coulee Region, who is in fourth place; and eighteen points ahead of the Chicago Hitmen, who are currently in last place and is the team that is the lone Midwest team not in a playoff spot. Despite the team being eighteen points behind Pontasch's former squad, the Saint Louis Bandits, Josef and this nitty bunch of Jr. Blues still believe they have a shot at home-ice advantage in the first round.
"With everybody playing well now, I anticipate a close race for the second spot in the rankings with Saint Louis going into the last part of the year. Follow that up with a thrilling first round playoff matchup with them as well."
Although there is still an awful lot of hockey left to be played, Pontasch continues to get better and better each time out on the ice. With him proving himself as one of the teams' top catalysts, the success of this team hinges a lot on how much production he gives the team.
Despite myself not being an NHL scout--or any scout for the sport of hockey, Josef Pontasch is definently a kid that has a lot of upside and potential. Following a learning season during his rookie campaign, he has proving himself to not only be a very dedicated player, he is becoming the NAHL's "total package".
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