UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men's hockey is kicking off the 2021-2022 season in just a few days. Head coach Guy Gadowsky and select players met with the media this past Monday to discuss the upcoming season and reflect on the past one.
Gadowsky and players discussed 10 years of Hockey Valley, picking up the pieces of a season impacted by a pandemic, and looking ahead to the post-COVID-19 season. Here are some storylines to follow with the season in the wings.
10 Years of Hockey Valley
This season marks 10 years since Guy Gadowsky and his staff took Penn State men's ice hockey to an NCAA Division I program.
It's been 10 years full of many milestones and accomplishments. In 2015, Gadowsky was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. The same year, former Penn Stater Casey Bailey became the first Nittany Lion to play a National Hockey League game, making his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
During his senior season in 2018, Trevor Hamilton was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Most recently, former Nittany Lion Cole Hults was named Big Ten Player of the Year and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2020.
"We always look at what work you have to do… we've certainly come a long way, I don't know if there's one milestone that said we've arrived," Gadowsky said. "I don't think we've arrived yet; I think we're having a really good time improving our program day-to-day."
For the players, this monumental season is a moment to pause and look back on their accomplishments and look to the future.
"Coach Gadowsky and the whole coaching staff have done an incredible job of recruiting the right players with high character… We never take anything for granted and the alumni have built such a great foundation for us and we just want to be able to build on top of that and make Penn State the best that it can be," junior forward Kevin Wall said.
Veteran Player's Impact
The return of veteran players as alternate captains in Clayton Phillips and Adam Pilewicz, and a strong leadership group of senior captain Paul DeNaples and junior alternate captain Connor McMenamin is vital in leading a young team.
With a roster composed mostly of sophomores, who had their freshman season impacted by COVID-19, and true freshmen, Gadowsky said that while the coaches have an inkling of who the leaders on the team are, picking this season's captains was a team effort.
DeNaples and Pilewicz were two who especially stood out.
"I think the qualities that make (DeNaples) special are a lot of intrinsic things that you can't really define… He's also an incredibly tough athlete… blocking shots, taking hits to make plays, I think that's a big part of it. He's a very intelligent guy, he's a real team first guy," Gadowsky said.
While Pilewicz's statistics are not incredibly noteworthy, his character makes him indispensable to the team.
"If you talk to alumni, you will get some very emotional responses about what he means to them – he's a very, very special human being. We're extremely fortunate and grateful that we get him back. He is a great leader… he doesn't have to get one point all year to be an absolute huge part of this program and one of the best leaders we've ever had," Gadowsky said.
Freshman Potential
With the arrival of five true freshmen, and two newcomers in transfer Ben Copeland and goaltender Doug Dorr, Gadowsky is hopeful about the newest additions to the Nittany Lions.
"I think one or two will have to (have an impact early) ... I don't want to guess because I'm not sure who that will be. I think they all have potential to do that," Gadowsky said. "We have optimism in all of them."
Senior members of the team are excited to interact with the freshmen and sophomores in person, as they believe it will help with the Nittany Lion culture and on-ice performance.
"To get that bond with the (freshmen), with the sophomore class too – because I didn't get as close with them last year as I would have liked to… to get that is unbelievable. It's huge for our team, the chemistry, everything," Pilewicz said.
Offensive Identity
With the loss of many prolific goal scorers in the last two seasons, including Nate Sucese, Brandon Biro, Evan Barratt, Alex Limoges and Aarne Talvitie, Penn State's offensive identity has been left in a lurch.
The COVID-19 pandemic hampered the team's ability to fit the pieces together, and they are currently in the process of finding their offensive identity again.
"Last year was so weird and difficult, it's really tough to really know where we were last year, let alone… now," Gadowsky said. "Right now, where we are, is we're really working hard to get our offensive identity – it's not as easy as you may think."
Interacting In Person Again
Playing during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic was no easy task, and while things aren't quite back to normal yet, Gadowsky and the players are most excited about being able to interact as a whole team once again.
"It's a part of what makes it a privilege to be a college coach," Gadowsky said.
For the players, this year is an opportunity to bond closely with the sophomores and freshmen. Last year, interacting with teammates over Zoom made it hard to build chemistry and form bonds, which is integral in building a successful team
"The fact that we have people back in this building is huge, people everywhere… it's nice being back to normal again, being able to hang out outside the rink and get to know guys I didn't even get to know last year," DeNaples said.
Return of the Roar Zone
While the team is hoping that the return to normalcy will allow them to build more chemistry with each other, they are also looking forward to the Roar Zone's return.
Pilewicz said that it "didn't feel the same last year," with the absence of the student section.
"To have them back will be unbelievable," Pilewicz said.
DeNaples, Phillips, and McMenamin, echoed Pilewicz's sentiments.
"Just looking forward to having that atmosphere back and giving us that little edge over other teams… when you have (the fans) on your side it's a lot of fun," McMenamin said.
Penn State's first game is Sunday, October 3 at home in Pegula Ice Arena. Puck drop is slated for 3:00 p.m.
