He's a goaltender on a record-setting shutout streak. And his Cariboo Cougars teammates aren't even worried about jinxing him. They're not making him sit by himself in a corner of the dressing room and they're not giving him the silent treatment late in games.
That's because Nathan Warren is about as laid-back as a goalie can be. Nothing gets under his skin or gets him off his game. He just stops pucks.
He has stopped all of them for four consecutive games now. Which, in the nine-year history of the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League, has never been done before.
"Lately I've been really focused," said the 17-year-old Warren, a lanky six-foot-three and 175 pounds. "The defence has been playing well and the offence has been scoring goals so we're all just coming together as a team. We're gelling really well and things have been going our way."
Warren's shutout binge started Nov. 4 in Kelowna when the Cougars thumped the Okanagan Rockets -- a team that had lost only once all season up to that point -- 8-0. Warren then backstopped the Cats to a 6-0 win against the Thompson Blazers on Nov. 10 in McBride. Last weekend in Victoria, he posted two more blanks. This time, the South Island Royals couldn't solve him in a pair of 7-0 victories for the Cougars.
The last person to score on Warren was Josh Blanchard of the Rockets. His goal came at 18:14 of the third period in Okanagan's 5-1 win against the Cougars on Nov. 3. So, in minutes, Warren hasn't fished a puck out of his net in 241:46.
"I've been seeing the shots clearly," said the Prince George product, who is in his second season with the Cats. "The d-men have been battling in front of the net, making it easier for me to see the puck, so that's been great. I expect myself to stop all the shots I can see. I try my best and recently it's been working out great. I'm pretty happy about it."
During Warren's streak, a couple pucks have snuck past him but they've clanged off posts.
"I didn't give [the shooters] any room -- that's what I like to think," he said with a grin.
Warren has five shutouts in total this season. He was also between the pipes for a 4-0 home-ice win against the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs on Oct. 6.
Not surprisingly, Warren owns the lowest goals-against average in the 11-team MML. His average stands at 1.83 and he has a win-loss record of 10-2. Overall, the Cats have gone 15-3 and trail only the Vancouver Northwest Giants (15-1-2) in the standings.
Of course, Warren's outstanding play hasn't gone unnoticed by his teammates.
"He's just been focusing really well and playing really consistent," said defenceman Stephen Penner. "He does his job and does it well. He cuts down the angles and controls his rebounds."
The 17-year-old Penner has been playing with Warren ever since they were peewees in the Prince George Minor Hockey Association. Penner said his friend likes to keep things loose in the dressing room but is all business when he's on the ice.
And, despite the reputations of many goaltenders, he's not the least bit nuts.
"He's actually one of the more normal goaltenders that I know," Penner said with a chuckle.
Cariboo head coach Trevor Sprague said Warren's string of shutouts is a reflection on the solid, two-way hockey the Cougars have been playing lately.
"We've also had a stretch where we've played some pretty easy teams too, but, at the same time, he has had to make big saves when we break down," Sprague said. "The team is confident when he's in the net and we have a lot of success when he's in the net."
Sprague, like Penner, regards Warren as a pretty relaxed guy. Sometimes, in the coach's experience, he borders on comatose.
"There have been times over the last two years where I've had to say, 'Hey, are you awake? Are you ready to go?' And then he'll go out there and post a shutout or win a hockey game for us," Sprague said. "If he wanted to change anything, I'd probably say, 'Don't.' He attacks the game the way that's successful for him and he's comfortable with it."
The next game for the Cougars is Saturday (1 p.m., CN Centre) against the Greater Vancouver Canadians. Warren will get the start against the fifth-place Canadians (9-7-2) and, depending on the health of goaltending partner Jeremy Matte, may be back in the crease for a Sunday rematch. Matte, 16, is trying to recover from an illness that has had him down and out for the past few days.
Warren said he's not even thinking about the streak.
"I go into every game and I just try to stop everything I can," he said. "If I don't, well then, whatever. I don't put too much pressure on myself. As long as I give my team a chance to win the game, that's all that counts."
When it comes to a future in the junior ranks, Warren has drawn interest from the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League and the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the B.C. Hockey League. He even attended Medicine Hat's 2012-13 training camp, but, to date, remains a free agent.
"He has shown that obviously he can play at the next level," Sprague said. "It just comes down to who wants to list him. In the WHL, Medicine Hat has had a lot of interest in him. In junior A, I would say he's ready to step up on some team in B.C. or Alberta and be one of their go-to guys."
