Kovacevic honored promise to finish degree

MONTREAL -- After turning pro following his junior season at Merrimack College, Johnathan Kovacevic promised his parents, Angie and Novica, that he'd earn his degree.

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Kovacevic was pursuing a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering and dominating in the classroom when he signed an entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets and an amateur tryout contract with the AHL's Manitoba Moose in March 2019.
All that stood between the young defenseman and his diploma were six classes, and he was hungry to keep his academic momentum rolling while simultaneously chasing his hockey dreams.
"When I left Merrimack, I told my parents that I was going to finish my degree. That was my number one priority, and that's why I got to work right away. I was in school mode. I wasn't going to wait around," insisted Kovacevic, a third-round pick of the Jets (74th overall) in 2017. "It's something that meant a lot to me and my parents. They always pushed me hard in education. Education helped my father immigrate to Canada. He's a computer engineer and my mother's a nurse. They've always pushed me to be well-rounded."

Over the next year, Kovacevic would balance the AHL rookie grind with his remote coursework.
He took one course during the summer semester after he signed, one course during the fall semester, two more courses during the spring semester, and another two during the ensuing summer semester to reach his goal in 2020.
It was challenging to say the least, but he wouldn't be denied.
"That was tough, especially because I was trying to get into pro hockey at the time, trying to find a way into the lineup. I had to go above and beyond at the rink, and on top of that I had school to do," explained Kovacevic. "I remember one time after a game in Rockford, I was on the team bus and I realized that I forgot that an assignment was due by midnight. I ended up doing it on my laptop and submitting it while we were heading to the next city. There were definitely a lot of hurdles along the way, but I actually graduated with the class I started with as a freshman at Merrimack, which was pretty cool."

One of those hurdles was completing group assignments like his senior design project, which proposed a new building on campus. Kovacevic was tasked with the "geotechnical aspect" of the project, specifically designing a suitable foundation for the property.
In the spirit of teamwork, he returned to North Andover, MA during the 2020 AHL All-Star break to rejoin his classmates and help move the work along.
"We had different parts of the project that we did individually, and then we'd meet as a group once a week. I was doing everything remotely, though, so when I had that downtime, I actually went back to school and spent my days there to show the group that I was trying and doing my best," recalled Kovacevic. "That was just before COVID hit, and everything ended up going online after that."
The now 25-year-old Hamilton, ON native ultimately finished the program with a nearly flawless transcript.
He truly was a model student-athlete.
"I probably finished at the top of my class. Everything was A's, except for two A-minuses. My GPA was something like 3.987. If you round that up, it's 4.0. I was good in the classroom," revealed Kovacevic, who earned back-to-back Hockey East All-Academic Team honors and Top Scholar-Athlete awards at Merrimack. "I spent a lot of time in the library studying, so it was nice to be rewarded for it."

As for why the towering blueliner majored in engineering, his passion for math, science and problem solving had something to do with it. His father's work also influenced his decision, and his brother, Ryan, is a mechanical engineer, too.
He chose civil engineering, specifically, because of his love for the outdoors.
"I went into civil because I wanted to work outside. That was my goal. I wanted to work at a construction site or work in nature, something like that," shared Kovacevic. "At first, I didn't really know what I was getting into, but the more I learned about it and the more time I spent at it, the more passionate I got about it. It's something that I really enjoyed."
That being said, Kovacevic doesn't anticipate searching for a position in that field when his playing days are over.
He'd prefer something in the hockey operations sphere.
"Hopefully I'm playing hockey for the next 10 years, and at that point, I'm not sure where life will take me. I love hockey. It's my biggest passion. I kind of have a thought for later in the future. I know analytics is a big part of the game right now and I'm really into numbers, so maybe I could bridge hockey and engineering together," explained Kovacevic. "I would maybe have a unique skill set in both, being pretty strong in math and then hopefully having a lot of hockey knowledge at the end of my career. That's all just in the back of my mind right now. It's nice to have the degree to fall back on, but I want to be here and play hockey for as long as I can. I'm just living in the moment and enjoying this chance with the Canadiens."

It's safe to say that Merrimack has a proud alum in Kovacevic.
And the Warriors will undoubtedly continue to celebrate his accomplishments.
"I don't rank my achievements, but off the top of my head, graduating is definitely on the shortlist. My first NHL game and getting a degree, those are among my best," concluded Kovacevic. "I worked really hard for that degree. It's something that's really special for me because I know how much effort and time I put into it. I had to find a different way. I'm really glad it worked out the way it did."