Hi hockey fans.
I made a big decision last week, committing to the University of Minnesota. I originally was committed to Notre Dame, but I committed so young. I believe I was 14 years old, and I now know you don't really know much when you're that young about the school and the hockey part.
I loved the staff at Notre Dame, but personally didn't feel like it was the right fit.
When we played at the University of Minnesota on Jan. 3, I had the chance to walk around a little bit and I just loved everything about it. I loved the hockey part, and I played with Minnesota forward
Matthew Knies
(Toronto Maple Leafs) and defenseman
Brock Faber
(Los Angeles Kings) while at the 2022 World Juniors and they told me nothing but great things. I like those guys, and also the Minnesota staff. I talked to them a little bit and they produced a lot NHL players. I want to be another one of those players.
Knies told me that playing at Minnesota has really helped grow his game so much, and especially as a power forward with how big he is (6-foot-2, 210 pounds), so that really got my attention. I'm still trying to grow my game, even after I graduate from the NTDP. I feel like I've done that so far and want to continue to do that. He said the coaching staff helped him a lot. I think we're going to have a really good team so that was also another reason I ended up choosing Minnesota.
I like where my game is at right now. I'd like to be producing a little bit more since I was at a pretty high rate before World Juniors. I think I've slowed down a little bit, but I did have a three-point game (all assists) in a 9-8 win against Muskegon on Feb. 4.
I think building off that and continuing to move forward is the key. If I keep building my game, the production will be there.
I did hear that the
World Juniors could be rescheduled for the middle of August
. It's a great tournament and I think it was horrible the way it ended, because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus. I think it's kind of a Christmas-time tournament, so I don't know what to think of rescheduling it in August. I also think there's going to be a lot of guys who are going to be signing with their NHL teams.
I'd love to play in it again because I had so much fun with this group of guys; it was one of the best times of my life. I'd definitely be really excited to play again, but personally, I just don't think there would be as much hype as there would be around Christmas.
I was asked to come up with the one NTDP player who maybe doesn't receive the recognition he deserves. I don't think defenseman Lane Hutson gets enough credit for what he does. He's such a good player. We always have a fun time playing together, especially in the offensive zone. We're always trying to find each other. I feel like we're kind of similar in the way we make plays because we're both pretty shifty. Because he's a little smaller for a defenseman (5-8, 148), I don't think he gets as much credit as he should. But he's one of the hardest players to knock off the puck. It's crazy how strong he is.
The men's ice hockey tournament at the 2022 Beijing Olympics was pretty cool. It was neat seeing the older guys like Eric Staal and Justin Abdelkader. Abdelkader skated with us for a good part of the year, so it was nice seeing him out there and watching him making a comeback. Obviously it was great to see how far the game has grown for those guys I played with at World Juniors.
I liked watching the snowboarding and skiing events, and the bobsled. I find that crazy how they do that. Personally, I didn't watch too much of the other stuff. I just watched a lot of hockey.
Thanks for reading this month.
Photo credit: Rena Laverty/NTDP
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