BC’s Patrick Giles sets high aspirations beyond the NHL Draft

(Photo courtesy of BC Athletics)

Boston College forward Patrick Giles is familiar with the NHL Draft process. He participated in the Washington Capitals development camp last summer prior to his freshman season, and knew about the rigorous training and interviews required from potential employers.

Emerging from that experience, the Maryland native remained mindful of his great fortune as an undrafted participant in his hometown’s team development camp.

“I was a huge Capital fan growing up, and have been a fan of how Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie play the game,” Giles told Pucks and Recreation before last weekend’s 2019 draft. “Everyone wants to play for their hometown team so that would be a dream come true. Honestly, though, any NHL organization would be a dream.”

College Hockey Inc. had a hunch he would take a formal first step there, grading Giles as a prospective fourth-to-sixth round candidate. Ultimately, he was passed over, but still had reason to watch. Even going in, he was thinking about more than his own prospects.

“I am definitely going to be following it for my future teammates,” he said before the draft. “I am excited to work with this great group of guys we have coming in.”

Giles did not have to wait long for those current or soon-to-be teammates to be selected. Out of the Eagles’ connections in the 2019 pool, seven were projected as draft-worthy.
 



(Photo courtesy of BC Athletics)

Incoming BC forward Matthew Boldy (Minnesota Wild), goaltender Spencer Knight (Florida Panthers) and forward Alex Newhook (Colorado Avalanche) were all selected in the first round last Friday. Defenseman Marshall Warren was likewise picked by the Avalanche in the sixth round to cap off a stellar weekend for BC hockey. The celebratory news continued after that with head coach Jerry York earning enshrinement as a builder in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
 

Despite the disappointment of not joining the Eagles’ nest of NHL draftees, Giles remains level-headed and committed to improving in his sophomore season. 

“I went through the same process of meeting with teams, participating in pre-draft workouts and I think what I learned is that the draft isn’t the end goal,” he said. “Jack McBain, one of my current teammates who is a drafted player encouraged me just to focus on getting better every day.”

Giles certainly took that advice to heart as he improved once the calendar turned to 2019 this past season. He recorded four of his six points in the second half of the season, and even scored his first collegiate goal in the Beanpot against Harvard.

“Scoring in the Beanpot was definitely the highlight of my first season at BC,” said Giles. “I remember that goal vividly as I got a great pass from Graham McPhee. Even more than scoring that goal, I was just excited to get the win.”

Giles felt that his play improved in the second half of the year thanks to the now-Hall-of-Fame-certified coaching at Conte Forum.

“During the season,” he said, “I felt that I developed my game a lot through the great coaching at BC. I know that I need to keep getting faster and that I need to spend the summer working on my shot.”

Beyond the community of teammates and coaches at BC, Giles has also relied on advice from fellow Maryland native and current AHL Iowa Wild fixture Sam Anas.
 

(Photo courtesy of BC Athletics)



Giles and Anas have a unique friendship. They grew up within 10 miles of each other, with Giles residing in Chevy Chase and Anas in Potomac. Both also attended Landon High School. During his two years there, Giles led the Bears to two straight Mid-Atlantic Prep Hockey League titles.

Finally, like Giles to this point, Anas went undrafted before realizing his potential as a pro after signing with the Wild after his junior year at Quinnipiac.

Anas, who is seven years Giles’ senior, has yet to see action in Minnesota. But he is currently the best bet to become the first NHL player to have played for and graduated from a Washington, D.C.-area high school. Perhaps Giles can become the second.

“Sam’s been a great friend and mentor,” Giles said. “We went to the same high school and he has told me that the most important thing is to trust the process. We often work out together in the summer and his advice has helped a lot.”

Giles recognizes the support that is present all around him and knows where he needs to improve to have his name called on NHL Draft weekend. Since he will turn 20 next year, he still has an outshot at being selected in 2020. However, free agency is his most likely inlet at this point.

Beyond that, he selflessly recognizes the opportunity ahead of him during his sophomore season at BC.

“We have a great class coming in, and the players we currently have are now a year older and are more experienced,” said Giles determinedly. “Our end goal every year is to make a run at a national championship and I know that we have a chance this year.”

-          John Morton

Rebecca Lindblad lives March Madness, fosters fever for more college sports





(Photo by Stephen Slade)

 

The University of Connecticut’s Freitas Ice Forum is just that, an ice facility. It does not change over for basketball the way Husky athletics’ out-of-town home base in Hartford, the XL Center, can.

 

But one member of the UConn women’s hockey program, the Forum’s primary tenant, did make a noteworthy switch from one winter sport to the other last month. And she needed 20 days rather than 20 hours to complete the transition from one event to the next.

While the Huskies’ women’s hockey season ended March 2 in a conference quarterfinal sweep by Boston College, senior forward Rebecca Lindblad’s involvement in sports has merely begun. As an intern in the athletic department, she had the honor of joining the event staff when the women’s hoops powerhouse hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament at Gampel Pavilion.

In basketball, UConn always features prominently in national TV coverage, and this year was no different. However, Lindblad’s internship showcased what it is like to work in the sports industry and fueled her passion for her future career even more.

For the March 22 and March 24 games against Buffalo and Towson, respectively, Lindblad worked as the operation liaison, welcoming the opposing teams and assisting with event preparation.

“I fell in love with it and the excitement that sports brings,” Lindblad eagerly recounted in an interview with Pucks and Recreation.

UConn’s two victories propelled it to the Sweet 16 in Albany, N.Y., followed by a Final Four berth in Tampa. Although the Huskies bowed out to Notre Dame, the two victories Lindblad witnessed were significant in her career aspirations.

March Madness is normally a tumultuous time for fans filling out brackets, but Lindblad embraced the frenzied pace behind the scenes. Not unlike Geno Auriemma’s understudies, she took this experience as a grand reward for a season’s worth of seen and unseen preparation.

(Photo by Stephen Slade)

As an event management intern for nine months, she has supervised interns, prepared for and cleared out after events and welcomed visiting teams to the Storrs campus.

Lindblad juggled these responsibilities while working toward a sports management degree and playing hockey, where she was an alternate captain. However, she views these formative experiences as sign posts guiding her in her job search.

“Similar to hockey, my work in event management exposed me to a unique work environment,” she said. “There are so many overlaps between my job and playing hockey. Things like a positive culture, teamwork, collaboration are significant to ensuring good results. We are all working towards something bigger than us.”

While hockey and her event management internship have cultivated Lindblad’s love for sports, one can say that passion was instilled at an early age. Before matriculating at UConn, the Illinois native starred as a dual-sport athlete in high school.

On the ice, she traveled with the Chicago Young Americans in the Elite Hockey League. Interscholastically, she played golf for New Trier High School, capturing all-state honors and a state championship.

“Golf has always been a huge part of my life,” reflected Lindblad. “My dad and brother played, and I still play in the summer. We also watch many of the golf tournaments every year. With the Masters coming up this week, I will be watching some of my favorite golfers, including Jordan Speith, Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed.”

Naturally, Lindblad prioritized hockey during her four years in Storrs. While her stats were not the most sparkling, her labor on the ice and in the gym has still drawn accolades. One year ago this week, she was one of four UConn student-athletes named an All-American for their commitment to strength and conditioning.

(Photo by Stephen Slade)

As she told the program’s website at the time of the honor, “I came to UConn full of doubt and insecurity. UConn was more than a thousand miles from home but the school, coaches, and my teammates have brought out the best in me both on and off the ice.”

Despite focusing on hockey, Lindblad’s love for all sports did not dissipate. In fact, she collaborated with other student-athletes and developed her interests even more. As an underclassman, she built her foundation for this via the Husky LEADS (Lead, Elevate, and Develop Student-Athletes) program.

“I was paired with a mentor who happened to be the current director of event management,” she told Pucks and Rec. “In fact, working with Danielle Upham was instrumental in helping me get my current role as an event management intern.”

Beyond networking, Lindblad’s two years in LEADS served as another method of personal growth. The two-year program focuses on identifying leadership traits, developing one’s strengths and improving on one’s weaknesses. In the second year, UConn invites athletes to volunteer in their local community and meet other athletes along the way.

Rounding out her experience, Lindblad spent last summer as a Recreation Intern for the Park District of Highland Park in Illinois. While there, she assisted with the planning and execution of various programs and events.

Lindblad’s leadership and interpersonal skills from these experiences will inevitably assist her as she looks beyond her time in Connecticut. However, all of her Husky teams have certainly left an indelible mark on her.

“In the future, I know I want to work in the sports industry,” she said. “I am currently applying to graduate schools in sports administration. Collegiate athletics is something that I am working towards, and hopefully I will be working in the athletics department at a university.”

-          John Morton

Air Force’s Kyle Haak possesses global vision

(Photo by Paat Kelly)

Senior forward Kyle Haak has roamed frequently and far during his four years with the Air Force Academy. But now that his tasks, on campus and elsewhere, are winding down in volume, he has recommitted to making it known the AFA holds a special place in his heart.

“Beyond our play on the ice, I am also enjoying the little things off the ice too, such as the road trips with the team and the practices,” Haak told Pucks and Rec. “I will miss this group when I graduate soon.”

Haak is nothing if not a seasoned veteran when it comes to travel. Beyond 42 career out-of-town weekends around the Lower 48 plus Alaska with the Falcons hockey team, he has been around the world in pursuit of improving others’ lives.

Per an Air Force press release, Haak filled out his 2018 summer journal as follows: “completed an internship with Fluence Corporation in Caesarea, Israel, attended the International Desalination Association “Water Re-Use” Conference in Valencia, Spain, studied alternative energy in Reykjavik, Iceland and studied nuclear energy at Oak Ridge National Labs in Tennessee.”

“These experiences all have to do with using alternative forms of energy,” he explained. “I have learned about various ways of harnessing energy in all of these work experiences. However, beyond energy, the desalination projects I have worked on consist of removing salt from salt water. I have also explored how to produce electricity without greenhouse gas emissions.”

These endeavors garnered Haak a nomination for NCAA men’s hockey’s Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. The award recognizes student-athletes on the criteria of excellence in the classroom, character development, community service and competition.

Haak continues a dense string of Air Force ambassadors to the award’s hockey candidate pool. The Okemos, Mich. native is the 11th Falcon to become a top-10 finalist in the past 13 years.

“It is a big honor,” said Haak, who played with thee prior candidates from the AFA. “I am nominated with many amazing people. I remember Dylan Abood being nominated, who I respect very much.”

(Photo by Paat Kelly)

 

Last season, Abood distinguished himself by working at MIT Lincoln, designing a portable solar power system to assist with disaster relief. The year prior, Johnny Hrabovsky likewise cracked the award’s top 10.

In addition, when Haak was a freshman, Falcons goaltender Chris Dylewski garnered the Hockey Humanitarian Award. Dylewski’s community-service highlights included founding RISE, a nonprofit that teaches young people how to serve their communities. He also created Operation Safe, an organization focused on genocide and mass atrocities awareness.

While furthering Air Force’s presence on the ballot, Haak possesses a strong sense of humility in realizing there is much to be done around the world.

“All of these unique work experiences showed me how intricate and complex issues such as water’s availability is and how often it only goes to people who can afford it,” he said. “These experiences pushed me to become interested in policy-making and how we can make water available for all people.

“I think these experiences have led me to learn more about myself and the world. I have spent a lot of time traveling and learning how complex the world and its cultures are. It has been a humbling experience to work in so many parts of the world.”

With his head on a swivel between the present and future, Haak hopes to further his involvement in these causes through graduate programs. But he still has a small, yet significant block of space to fill on his undergraduate resume, which is already radiant as it is.

 

“I think these experiences have led me to learn more about myself and the world. I have spent a lot of time traveling and learning how complex the world and its cultures are. It has been a humbling experience to work in so many parts of the world.” – Kyle Haak

Beyond his notable accomplishments away from Colorado Springs, Haak distinguishes himself on campus. He is the Academy’s reigning Cadet of the Year, having been declared 2018’s most outstanding student in a body of 16,000.

“I think that being selected for this honor is a testament to the support I have been given since I have arrived at Air Force,” he said. “Hockey coaches, academic advisors and others have assisted me in all of the projects I have done, and I know I couldn’t do anything alone.”

This commitment to collaboration spills over into Haak’s volunteer efforts in the Colorado Springs community.

“I think in all of the service projects I have done, it has been a group effort,” said Haak. “We always volunteer for one event in the fall as a hockey squadron. These service projects showcase how much help we can do together when you bring your community together to do something good. It is a great thing to be a part of.”

In his time at Air Force, Haak has volunteered with Marion House Soup Kitchen to help feed the homeless (as did Abood), assisted families with special-needs children and worked with the American Red Cross to install fire detectors.

Beyond those accomplishments, Haak remains focused on what he and the Falcons can continue to achieve on the ice. With only a weekend home set against Holy Cross remaining in the regular season, Air Force sits third in the Atlantic Hockey standings.

Home ice is safe for the first round of the conference tournament. With that said, if the well-traveled Haak is to make at least one more excursion with his fellow pucksters, they must capitalize on that advantage. Having won each of the last two AHA playoff titles and been to the subsequent NCAA regionals, the Falcons crave another step.

“As a team, we look to get better each year,” said Haak, the team’s second leading scorer with 21 points and top goal-getter with 12. “We focus on each day and look for opportunities to win, whether that is in our conference, regionally or even nationally.”

-          John Morton

Mason Bergh small on talk, big on action to aid local youth

(Photo by Casey B. Gibson)



If anything points to glaring generational disparities between Mason Bergh and post-millennials, it may be taste in literature.

The second-year Colorado College men’s hockey captain cites the Harry Potter series as his favorite book. He was 12 years old when the final installment of J.K. Rowling’s groundbreaking seven-part saga hit stores in 2007.

Nearly twice that age today, he admits that for all of his volunteerism with children, he has yet to meet anyone sharing that interest.

So much for theory-based conversations on how wizards might translate their quidditch skills to hockey, or at least broomball. But that will not threaten Bergh’s devotion to Colorado Springs-area youth, even as his window of time there diminishes.

This much is all but certain for the coming spring: Bergh will graduate, and something he played a small role in building will become reality.

May 19 is the big day for Bergh, whose off-ice legacy includes fundraising for a new Colorado Springs children’s hospital. Although no concrete date has been announced, the hospital’s opening remains on track for late spring. That time has been set since the building’s groundbreaking early in Bergh’s sophomore year.

Where he will physically be by that point is tougher to prognosticate. Bergh is blinking on the NCAA class of 2019’s free-agent radar. A repeat Hobey Baker candidate and 2019 Lowe’s Senior CLASS nominee, he has a professional pact within hooking distance.

Any of the NHL’s 31 organizations could sign him. Or he could easily latch on with a talent-starved lower-level or overseas squad. Of those scenarios, only a one- or two-way pact with Denver’s Colorado Avalanche or their AHL affiliate further north, the Colorado Eagles, could keep him remotely close to his alma mater.

Nonetheless, the Minnesota transplant pledges to keep Southern Colorado close to his heart. In an email to Pucks and Recreation, he offered, “In the future, even if it is not directly related to my professional life, I will always try to help children and continue to be involved in the Colorado Springs area.”

Bergh’s stinginess on substance when reached by this outlet may merely underscore his time’s premium status. As his Senior CLASS resume highlights, he has already secured three slots on the NCHC and national all-scholar teams.

(Photo by Casey B. Gibson)

He has never missed CC’s dean’s list, and is currently defending the Paul Markovich Award as his squad’s top student. He attained the latter while swelling his point tally from 24 in 2016-17 to 40 in 2017-18.

And then, over the offseason, he lent his presence to Colorado Springs for the up-and-coming hospital’s most touted fundraiser. Joining teammate Ben Israel and women’s soccer Tigers Rachael Martino and Jade Odom, he volunteered at the Climb for Courage. The annual race, which will return this June, entails trekking the staircases of the Air Force Academy’s Falcon Stadium.

Bergh was there for the climb’s fourth edition last June 23, the month’s penultimate Saturday. He spent the next week in metro New York as an-large invitee to the Rangers’ development camp.

Back to finish what he started with his studies, Bergh has yet to see the site of the new facility. But the testaments to his and hundreds of others’ involvement continue to glacially emerge.

This past Thursday, Children’s Hospital Colorado’s Twitter account announced more than 80 job vacancies for its Colorado Springs chapter. When it opens, the new base will be “The lone pediatric-only hospital in Southern Colorado.”

In the meantime, Bergh leads his fellow CC pucksters in visits to facilities serving the same purpose. Two days prior to Thanksgiving, the captain and four other Tigers toured the children’s ward of Penrose Hospital (whose namesake is the same as NCAA hockey’s coach-of-the-year award).

“The most rewarding part of participating in these events is the smile you can put on a kid’s face by just hanging out with them,” Bergh offered.

The same goes for when he can fill a shift for CC’s recurring Parents’ Night Out promotions. Through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Tigers of each sport will entertain local children on campus on up to a quarterly basis for up to five hours at a time.

To date, Bergh says he has partaken in every Parents’ Night Out not overlapping with a team road trip. As with the hospital-oriented outings, “it is a way to reach out and be active with the children in the Colorado Springs region.”

“Understanding the position I am in and the impact I can make on a kid’s life is why I have a passion for working with children,” he added.

AIC hockey as international (and competitive) as ever

BY AL DANIEL

Martin Mellberg (front) was part of a wave of overseas recruits committing to American International hockey within weeks of coach Eric Lang's (back) arrival. (Photo by Bob Blanchard)

The American International College hockey program has always had an ambassador in one of its school’s signature events.

With at least one senior waving the red maple leaf, a Yellow Jacket skater is consistently eligible for the Parade of Nations. The annual march lets every fourth-year international student brandish their banner, of which there are dozens.

But for the eighth consecutive year, hockey will have an unassisted Canadian goal in the parade. Then again, that shall change dramatically with the new decade.

Barring early exits, six student-pucksters from the class of 2020 will be eligible. Czech Patrick Demel, Latvian Jānis Jaks and Swedes Martin Mellberg, Hugo Reinhardt and Zackarias Skog shall join Canadian Kyle Stephan.

Together, when their turn comes, that quintet will constitute the first European AIC pucksters to participate in the parade since Slovak defenseman Tomas Benovic had his chance in 2011.

When that happens, it will fulfill a formality in alumnus and coach Eric Lang’s recruitment revolution. In the meantime, with another season-and-a-half between now and then, the program is savoring other milestones.

With 11 players hailing from seven countries outside the U.S. or Canada, AIC hockey is Division I’s most internationally diverse program. Count the Canadians, and there are 17 international students in Lang’s locker room.

With seven players representing five nations from across a given pond, Lake Superior State has men’s hockey’s second-most flags. Nine Canadians move the Lakers up to 16 student-skaters from outside the U.S.

Connecticut is the next runner-up in terms of European volume, with six players from five countries. Omaha matches UConn’s Canadian-European aggregate of 10, with one player apiece from the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden and Slovakia.

Among fellow Yellow Jackets, only men’s soccer compares in the nation tally, with 10 players representing eight foreign countries. With four of seven, women’s tennis is the only other roster of two players or more with an international majority.

The superlatives cannot escape the third-year man of the ice house, himself a 1998 AIC graduate.

“It’s a totally different place right now,” Lang told Pucks and Recreation via phone last week.

Three years after Slovak forward Jakub Siminek left early, Patrik Demel of the Czech Republic was AIC hockey's first new European commitment. (Photo by Bob Blanchard)

That goes for his extracurricular specialty, which upgraded from Division III in 1998-99, and the college in general. Under Gary Wright, who manned their bench from 1974 to 2016, the Yellow Jackets had only North Americans for their first six Division I seasons.

As it happened, two key arrivals coincided ahead of the 2005-06 academic year and hockey season. Yugoslav forward Denis Budai joined the Canadians in putting the “International” in American International College hockey. Meanwhile, Dr. Vincent Maniaci rose to AIC’s presidency, where he remains 13 years later.

“He’s a person who knows every single person who attends AIC,” said Lang. “He knows them by name, and that’s his leadership style.

“The people make the place, and that’s something our president has leveraged to our administration and right on down to the coaches.”

Uncannily enough, while the sport took time to take hold, hockey’s homeland was crucial to AIC’s founding philosophy. The Reverand Calvin E. Amaron, a French Protestant minister in Springfield, Mass., established the institution in 1885 with fellow French-Canadians in mind. They were an underserved demographic in the region, and their higher-ed haven would quickly open to more, including women and a greater variety of Europeans.

Minus a hitch via the two World Wars and the global depression they sandwiched, AIC rose to max its mission. But even in this century, the hockey program — one of two Division I Yellow Jacket swarms besides women’s rugby — has had some comparative lulls in reflecting the campus’ diversity.

For each of Wright’s final three seasons, Slovak forward Jakub Siminek’s exit reverted the roster to all North Americans. If anything, Lang suggests, it reflected slim pickings for global talent in the NCAA ranks.

“The population of Europeans in the NHL was not represented by the population of Europeans in college hockey,” Lang said.

Players were either rounding out their amateur days in their homeland, going to Canada’s major-junior system or being plucked by more privileged college programs. For 2018-19, 17 men’s Division I programs, including five of AIC’s Atlantic Hockey rivals, are still exclusively North American. (Two of those, including Lang’s former employer at Army, cannot help that, as they are service academies.)

With that said, when Lang replaced the retiring Wright in 2016, he and his staff “saw a window,” he said.

Besides reflecting AIC’s mission, Lang saw untapped overseas training as a potential perk-up potion for a perennial Atlantic Hockey bottomfeeder. He cited Sweden’s emphasis on learning over scorekeeping at early ages and the continent’s general sustained multi-sport upbringings.

“Our model is getting toward a little bit of that European influence,” he said.

As part of AIC's 2016 recruiting class, Zackarias Skog represented a resurgence of European presence in the program. Now, halfway through his junior year, he has the majority of the credit for the Yellow Jackets' best midseason record in their Division I era. (Photo by Bonnie Kennedy)

Lang wasted negligible time infusing that influence when he was hired on April 13, 2016. Three weeks later, the Czech defenseman Demel and Swedish goaltender Skog both signed on for the 2016-17 season.

Four days after that, Reinhardt was on board. An additional eight days elapsed before Mellberg committed. Jaks rounded out the revolutionary class two months after the coaching torch was passed.

With Tobias Fladeby (Norway), Luka Maver (Slovenia) and Vitaliy Novytskyy (Ukraine), the number of non-North American nations doubled last season. As of this year, Matúš Spodniak puts Slovakia back in the mix.

“First and foremost, for us, it’s created a very diverse locker room,” Lang said. “I’ve learned about a lot of different cultures. Taking the time to learn about one another has been an amazing part of the process for us.”

Past the halfway mark of the icebreaking quintet’s Springfield stay, the long-suffering scoreboard is getting its say as well. At the holiday break, Fladeby and Reinhardt were tied for fifth in team point production. Demel is second among the skaters in plus-minus, and Skog is playing the majority of the minutes.

Moreover, Skog’s 4-4-0 record reflects the team’s own .500 mark (7-7-1), its best at any point in any season since the first weekend of 2013-14. The only time the Jackets have had a winning record in Division I was after their 2002-03 season opener.

Now they are on their first four-game winning streak since February 2013.

“We certainly got a return on investment,” Lang said. “Our recruiting and our strongholds…have been outstanding.”

When Wright retired, AIC was No. 56 out of the NCAA’s 60 programs with 2.05 goals per game. It ranked dead-last on defense with 4.08 setbacks per night.

Under Lang, the Yellow Jackets ascended to 51st and 50th, respectively, on the NCAA’s 2016-17 offensive and defensive leaderboard. They were 33rd on defense by the end of last season.

At the current holiday break, they average 3.13 favorable strikes, ranking No. 19 in the nation. Defensively, they are tied for 40th with 3.07 opposing strikes every 60 minutes.

“The individual skill level is as high as it’s ever been in our program,” Lang said. “It’s a credit to these small countries and the way they develop their players.”

The defense is not the only aspect tightening up under this newfound overseas influence. “Sometimes I’ll come into the locker room, and they’ll tell me my suit is too baggy,” Lang said.

Lang, whose affinity for cultural melting pots dates back to his upbringing in the Bronx, welcomes all various playful and practical feedback. So much so that he tends to mute himself and let incumbent pupils do the touting for prospects.

“Our best salesmen at AIC have been our players,” he said. “I always say this is their program. I’m just kind of guiding the ship a little bit.”

The evolving culture is even appealing to those jumping more majestic, luxurious liners. Three Americans on the 2018-19 American International College hockey roster have transferred from Massachusetts, Providence and St. Cloud State.

The last of those three, Ryan Papa, completed his undergraduate studies early in 2017. With one remaining year of athletic eligibility to coincide with his MBA pursuits, he chose AIC over Northeastern.

“I don’t think we can compete with their resources,” Lang conceded. “But they’ve ended up on our campus.”

Besides chasing AHA banners for the MassMutual Center to match the Flag Room of the campus library, the next unchecked milestone would be a homecoming for at least one recruit. While there are currently no talks of involving AIC in an overseas contest, the ECAC/Hockey East Belpot in Northern Ireland generates a craving.

“It would be an amazing opportunity for our league,” Land said. “With our European background, I think it would be a novel pick to represent our league over here. We would be all for it.”

Ian Edmondson doubles as blueliner and breadline anchor at Canisius

Photo Credit: Joe Van Volkenburg

Ian Edmondson is at his Sunday best when the bridge to downtown Buffalo connects his leading and listening sides.

The former gets its fill in his role as captain of the Canisius College men’s hockey team and as a student spearhead in the campus ministry. But through the Jesuit school’s Sandwich Ministry, the week’s traditional day of rest yields a refreshing, active change of pace.

The Sandwich Ministry is geared toward feeding Buffalo’s impoverished or otherwise less fortunate residents. As Canisius’ community-service officer on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, Edmondson rose to a senior spot on the signature initiative.

This means overseeing a cluster of 15 students, with almost all of the personnel except Edmondson himself and graduate assistant Alex Tubridy changing each week. It also entails a dramatic turn of the page, punctuating the ever-busy college hockey weekend.

Between the first week of October and the start of March, the 2018-19 Golden Griffins have 12 regional Saturday games. That is, they are home at the HarborCenter or visiting crosstown rival Niagara or regional rival Rochester Institute of Technology.

Those are all close enough that Edmondson should have no trouble lending his presence to Sunday’s proceedings. It is always a timely diversion when he can make it.

“Participating actually helps you get away from your sport for a few hours and think about some of the bigger things in life,” he told Pucks and Recreation via phone this past week. “You kind of start facing a greater appreciation for your life.”

One moment almost did not grant Edmondson’s mind a thorough escape from hockey. During one mission when he was a junior, he came across a man ready to accept a beverage at the end of the line. Subsequent small talk began with queries as to the Golden Griffins’ season.

But then the man opened up about his employment struggles and the impact on his family. Dry eyes were all but a lost cause long before the parties dispersed.

“It got pretty emotional,” Edmondson recalled. “For him to share the troubles that he’s having with people that are caring for him, it was pretty moving.”

Coming to Canisius via Toronto, Edmondson brought comparable curriculum vitae of captaincies and community service. He frequented Habitat for Humanity projects with his family and joined fundraisers with his junior team, the St. Michael’s Buzzers. His four-year tenure with the Buzzers culminated with the “C” over his heart in 2014-15.

Upon bestowing the same responsibility to Edmondson this season, Griffins coach Trevor Large stated on the program’s website, in part, “Protecting our culture is everything.”

The broader Canisius culture leaves little separation between student, athlete and servant. Undergraduate enrollment sits barely below 2,600, and this year’s sports teams combine for 365 players.

That amounts to roughly 14 percent of the student body representing the brand in Division I competition. If the jocks are the true toast, one is rarely left in the dark from the stars’ radiant company.

“It’s all kind of part of the college experience,” Edmondson said. “At Canisius, student-athletes make up a big part of the school.”

Tubridy is anything but oblivious to the bonus that comes with spreading that celebrity wealth beyond campus. “Community members love to see college students with an interest in volunteer work,” he told Pucks and Rec via email. “Especially student-athletes, as they know how busy their schedules are.”

If no other aspects of the Canisius culture typify that notion, the Sandwich Ministry does. In any given week, the program’s one constant among student-ministers uses his SAAC connections to enlist eight representatives from a select sport. The rest of the roster consists of non-athletes pursuing required service hours, sometimes as part of a syllabus.

 

Photo courtesy of Canisius Athletics

 

The team convenes at 3 p.m in the campus chapel’s basement, where they devote 45 minutes to assembling the edibles. Ham or peanut butter and jelly are the common fillers, and cookies and hot chocolate are go-to side staples.

Tubridy says the average gathering awaiting the ministry ranges between 30 and 35, though Edmondson estimates 50. With that many recipients, the spread usually proves substantial enough to give everyone a variety pack of four sandwiches. Longer lines can hover around 75 locals, which still leaves an appreciable bounty to go around.

Beyond preparation in the chapel, 75 minutes typically take up the round bus trip and downtown distribution. At least a full hour is thus reserved for precious pleasantries.

Afterward, the bus doubles as the Sandwich Ministry locker room. Edmondson and Tubridy will trade feedback with the week’s team to inform their game plan going forward.

“There’s a lot of similarities in those two jobs,” Edmondson said of captaining the icers and orchestrating the meal drives. “You have to be very direct that there are certain expectations to be met. Making sure people are showing up on time and things run along smoothly.”

Naturally, out-of-state road trips on the hockey schedule will render Edmondson a healthy scratch on some Sundays. But he always makes a point of establishing the lineup and schedule for those on tap for Tubridy.

“This is an experience that many of these students could easily miss out on if not for Ian’s efforts to coordinate them,” Tubridy remarked.

In that sense, Large could have been speaking for the Sandwich Ministry when he prophesied Edmondson’s on-ice reliability.

“Ian will lead the way as captain,” Large stated in the press release unveiling the Canisius captains, “and he will lean on the rest of the team to lead when they are called upon.”

There is even a friendly gravy-drizzled stake for the hockey team. Edmondson is up for the 2019 Lower’s Senior CLASS Award, and his candidacy page alludes to the Golden Griffin Cup. The Canisius sports team that logs the most community-service hours in the academic year earns the bragging rights.

“Ever since my freshman year,” Edmondson said, “we’ve had a very strong push for being involved in the community.”

Then again, with the weekly enlistment of non-skating Griffins for the Sandwich Ministry, he helps his competitors as well. But it is all still in the name of Canisius, and Edmondson is expressly trying to uphold the standards of a man locals have called “Mr. Canisius.”

When Edmondson was a sophomore, senior associate campus minster Joe Van Volkenburg garnered the One Buffalo Community Award. The monthly prize bequeathed by Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula and yields a donation to a charity of the recipient’s choosing.

Before shifting his focus to local high schools, Van Volkenburg worked at Canisius, his alma mater, for almost a quarter-century. During his overlap with Edmondson, he oversaw the Sandwich Ministry and equivalent projects built on burritos and soup.

Edmondson joined fellow pucksters on Van Volkenburg’s shuttle to Buffalo soup kitchens, and learned from him to “be there mentally.” That aspect is the key to ensuring the volunteers nourish psyches as well as stomachs in need.

“This is important for these people’s lives,” Edmondson said. “You need to engage and talk with them. They may be going through a tougher time than you think.”

Clair DeGeorge to the third power: School, sport and Rubik’s on the side

Clair DeGeorge, who likes to take a minute before game time to align a Rubik’s Cube, has also translated her ceberal prowess in more meaningful ways.

(Photo courtesy of BSU Photo Services)

 

It all started when Clair DeGeorge sought a much-needed time-killer.

Fast-forward five years, and open season on her agenda is a distant memory. Free moments are now an endangered species, as they are wont to become for a Division I student-athlete.

Fortunately, the Bemidji State women’s forward and U.S. national team prospect who cites the Rubik’s Cube as her top hidden talent has struck a regulatory compromise. Knowing her limits, she has mastered her personal ceiling with a 58-second completion.

Even on the relatively relaxed 3-by-3-by-3 variant she prefers, that pales in comparison to the world record. This past May, Australian prodigy Feliks Zemdegs revised his Guinness entry by ordering the six colors in 4.221 ticks.

Still, it makes for a perfect pregame routine, one that gives her sticks a longer breather before ice time arrives. When others might squeeze in some last-minute dryland puckhandling rehearsal, DeGeorge organizes the color-coded nine-member teams.

“It’s more to get my wrists a little bit warmed up,” she explained to Pucks and Recreation. “At this point I usually just do it based on supersitition.”

Given the time of the Rubik’s Cube’s arrival in her life, its lasting side role explains itself. An Anchorage, Alaska, native, DeGeorge first came to Minnesota to enroll as a ninth-grade student at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School. There she would test her on-ice potential in the program that produced four gold-medal Pyeongchang Olympians in Brianna Decker, Amanda Kessel, Jocelyne Lamoureux and Monique Lamoureux.

She would also undertake an upgrade in academic rigor at the state’s sole boarding school. And yet, she recalls, “I had a lot of time on my hands” in that 2013-14 school year.

All of SSM’s hockey teams (five boys’ and two girls’) function as a travel program. This entails a six-month schedule split between home dates and coach bus trips to action-packed weekends.

While on the 16-and-under team, DeGeorge found her new road-trip and general downtime diversion. “A couple of my teammates taught me their ways of being able to get the patterns down,” she said. “After a lot of practice, I just got to doing it pretty fast.”

Not that she is prepared to sprint head-on into her boundaries. The conventional variants on a Rubik’s Cube range in six sizes, all classified by cubes per row and column. To date, DeGeorge has mastered the de facto Level II out of six.

The highest basic size, 7-by-7-by-7, is an admitted reach. Moreover, she resists the playful pushing of fellow BSU Beavers who send her viral videos of stunt speedcubers.

“I never want to try it blindfolded,” she said in reference to one of the most common challenge upgrades. Ditto tackling a cube under water, using a single hand, using one’s feet or juggling the toy in the process.

But concomitant with her cubing discovery, DeGeorge found more meaningful ways of translating her cerebral prowess. With SSM running its middle school through ninth grade, she was in contention for that level’s top grade-point average in 2013-14. She was taken aback upon learning she had retained the highest mark at year’s end.

“It was never really on my mind,” she said. Nonetheless, the achievement did impel her to “reevaulate” her capabilities.

By the time she was a high-school junior, the same year she made Team USA’s 18-and-under select squad, DeGeorge was on SSM’s cum laude list. As a senior, she collected one award apiece in academics, athletics and service and citizenship.

Those were all payoffs for substantial investments and sacrifices of time, mind you.

“Balancing the two is the hardest,” she said. “It’s hard to be studying and working on your athletics and knowing that all your friends are out having fun. When the day is done, you realize you haven’t had time to talk to everyone you wanted to.”

Ice-wise, DeGeorge caught her biggest break on the heels of her holiday respite from school in 2016-17. Making the cut for the 18-and-under national squad at the World Junior Championship, she went to the Czech Republic for the first half of January.

She would chalk up five assists in as many tournament games, including the primary helper on the icebreaker in a 3-1 win over Canada for the gold. But with a winter trimester fast folding back at her home away from home, reality waited to hit hard.

“I spent the rest of the semester in the library,” she said. “You just have to pick and choose what your priorities are and figure out the rest.”

Within four months of that whirlwind, DeGeorge was summoned to the stage three times at SSM’s year-end awards ceremony. Among her accolades, the academic jewel came for attaining the highest marks in science. She has carried that credential over to a concentration in nursing studies at BSU.

Since she moved upstate and enrolled in college, a little of “the rest” is the Rubik’s Cube once again. And DeGeorge is not ruling out a future crack at the four-by-four-by-four variant.

“Maybe someday,” she mused, “if I can get a lot of time on my hands.”

Ethan Stewart knows the joy of sax

Photo courtesy of Ferris State Athletics

If anyone ever sees a need to make Ethan Stewart feel more at home at Ewigleben Arena, a menu of options exists.

There are public-address system staples like “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “It’s My Life” and “You Give Love a Bad Name.” If Ferris State’s visitors incur a penalty and Stewart is summoned to the power-play unit, there is “Wanted: Dead or Alive.”

Or even, at the last game before a long break, any version of “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.” To heighten the hometown feel, maybe switch gears from Bon Jovi to Cheap Trick.

But the disc jockey need not go it alone. This is college hockey, after all, and FSU’s pep band is rife with saxophonists. Some tenor solos, in particular, could hit the spot for Stewart, who has been in those musicians’ shoes before.

Based on Stewart’s admission, the notion that Plexiglas, helmets and facial cages cancel all outside disturbances at game time is slightly exaggerated. He cannot help taking note of the canned entertainment and seizing a little extra adrenaline from it.

“I do enjoy listening to the music in the pregame warm-ups,” he told Pucks and Recreation this week. “Sometimes a song will come on and I think, ‘Oh, I played that song in high school.’”

The sights, sounds and activity make for pleasant flashbacks to the Stewart household as well. Between playing definitive travel hockey and playing the tenor sax in his school’s band, home time was at a premium. Stewart tended to spend those minutes honing his puck-handling and shooting skills in the basement.

Meanwhile, in the next room, his father would often devote his leisure time to covering classic rock on his guitar. “My dad used to be able to play any song ever,” he says. “Any classic rock song or country song.”

Through that, in no small part, Bon Jovi grew to be one of Stewart’s favorite artists. But he is far from finicky in terms of what music he consumes, produces or how.

Raised in Rockford, Ill., Stewart comes from a versatile hockey family. The middle of three brothers, he is the lone forward in the brood. Its eldest member, Hayden, graduated from Cornell this past spring and now tends the net for the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones. The youngest, Harrison, is a defenseman for the NA3HL’s North Iowa Bulls.

Growing up, all three assumed a cornucopia of musical positions as well. While their father, Brad, instilled their guitar hobby, their mother, Kate, enrolled them in piano lessons throughout elementary school.

By age 12, Stewart had more instrumental autonomy, and his music teacher turned him on to the tenor sax. Once again, the variety motif was in play.

“You can play high or low pitches,” Stewart says. “You can be the main part of a song, the main tone or play more of a backup role. There’s a lot of versatility.”

Although primarily synonymous with jazz, the tenor sax also bears broad genre horizons. Stewart kept the classic rock coming in both private and formal performances with his high-school marching band.

It helped to learn, as he did during his sophomore year, that Guilford High School produced three-quarters of Cheap Trick. (The fourth founding member, Robin Zander, went to Harlem High six miles up the road.)

Being Rockford’s musical pride alone made Cheap Trick a natural staple in the Stewart residence playlist. But at Guilford, knowing that Bun E. Carlos, Rick Nielsen and Tom Peterrson fostered the same fundamental interest within the same facilities made it “fun to be part of that same atmosphere.”

Stewart also had the pleasure of mastering a marching-band rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” for halftime at the homecoming football game in 2014.

“We made the formation of his famous glove and his legs to do the moonwalk,” he recalled. “We’d go out every day for weeks prior to get the movements down.”

In those moments, a cliché command from coaches at the rink all but rang in his head. There he was trying to make things happen with a handheld tool while moving his feet swiftly and smoothly.

“I do remember that, at one point during the song, I had to walk kind of at a 45-degree angle to the right and forward,” Stewart said. “Had to rush to get to the new spot to make it look good. Trying to get my feet going in the right direction.

“It’s kind of funny. I had to move my feet pretty quickly to get in position.”

The truth was, in those days, Stewart’s body collectively was just short of a shark’s the way it kept rolling. It needed to.

Besides the marching band, the jazz band and the syllabi at Guilford, he was honing his hockey craft with the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals. That commitment entailed a 90-minute commute to practice three nights a week, usually with academic cramming sessions in the car.

With hockey still his chief long-term extracurricular pursuit, Stewart sacrificed rehearsals “once or twice.” That being said, “My band director was really good about that. He let me write a paper and make up for it.”

Over three seasons in the Admirals travel program, Stewart never missed a game. With their 18-and-under club in 2014-15, he tied for fourth on team scoring leaderboard in league play. Amidst all of that, he landed in Guilford’s National Honors Society as a senior.

“It was challenging,” he admitted. “But it was good for me because it taught me to be responsible at an early age.”

A three-year Junior-A detour between high school and college shelved the academic weight for a time. By that point, Stewart no longer had a sax of his own either.

But during North American League seasons in South Dakota, Alaska and Illinois, he made a point of perusing the local music scenes. His roommate with the Kenai Brown Bears was a fellow guitarist, and he was enthralled by the stores in Aberdeen.

“I just like musical instruments in general,” he said.

Since entering the Bulldogs’ ice kennel, Stewart has found ample company sharing his outside interest. Besides an action-shot profile picture, his lone specimen of Twitter activity this autumn has been a retweet that captured a teammate’s multi-talented essence.

The post, coming from the team’s account, went up on Oct. 7, when FSU claimed a come-from-behind 5-2 exhibition victory over Lethbridge. With a primary assist from Stewart, junior forward Dom Lutz got the offense rolling that afternoon by cutting an initial 2-0 deficit in half.

In response, the team Twitter feed stated, “Dom Lutz. Musician. Goal Scorer. You decide.” The accompanying video clip shows a helmetless Lutz shedding his stick and gloves in favor of a guitar, which he strums while shuffling offscreen.

Last season, Lutz and three teammates — Nate Kallen and Drew and Tyler Dorantes — constituted a rock band, the Don Cuatros. But the Dorantes brothers, who were the group’s backup guitarists, have since graduated.

Without even looking for it, Stewart might have put himself in a position to fill that void. Or to dust off his primary adolescence instrument and bring a new dynamic to the Don Cuatros. On the team’s second day of practice, he casually spoke of his saxophoning history with another teammate.

That was when, as Stewart recalls, the keyboardist Kallen turned his head and cannonballed into the conversation.

“That was the first time I talked to him much,” he said. “Now he wants me to try to get a sax. I probably should. It would be fun to join them."

Given Stewart’s expressed interest in mastering the acoustic guitar, particularly for country music, Lutz is the ideal teammate to feed off of. But whether his hockey skills or in-the-making degree in business marketing form his professional basis, he hopes to keep his whole roster of instruments intact on the side.

“I always want to have a piano in my house,” he said. “Guitar and saxophone too. I want to be able to play them for my family when I’m older.”