UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Around December of last year, Paul DeNaples began to think about coming back to Penn State for a fifth year.
It was always in the back of his mind. The defenseman felt like he personally hadn't done enough in his four years with the program. And he couldn't walk out of Pegula Ice Arena without ensuring the team was fully on the road to success.
The COVID-19 pandemic had greatly altered the team's culture, and while every player worked hard this year to bring it back up, DeNaples didn't want to leave until the culture went from "good," to "great."
By senior night on February 19, DeNaples was fully committed to returning.
"Paul was essential to getting the culture back to the great level we expect coming out of COVID," head coach Guy Gadowsky said. "To have him back to continue that job is extremely important for our team. Besides that, look at what he's accomplished on the ice, and specifically in terms of plus-minus on a national level. He's an elite defenseman that will continue to prove invaluable on the ice."
It may not be obvious why culture is so important to the team. But, according to DeNaples and Adam Pilewicz, who opted to return to Hockey Valley for his fifth year of eligibility this past year, it's a combination of intangibles and concrete acts that make it possible for a team to have chemistry and perform on the ice.
To DeNaples, it's impossible to have a winning team without a strong culture.
"Some of the biggest things are accountability and trust, whether it's at the rink on the ice or outside of the rink when you're home," DeNaples said. "You have the trust that guys are going to do the right thing… take care of business and if they make a mistake they step up, take accountability, and own it. On the ice you need to have trust in your teammates and not be worried on ice that a guy is going to turn the puck over or make a crucial mistake."
Pilewicz echoed DeNaples, arguing that players "buying in" to the team's culture is integral to having on-ice success. Culture is especially important in hockey, and it directly translates to how a team performs, he said.
"You have to be willing to go that extra mile for the guy that's sitting next to you. It helps so much when you would do anything for the guy next to you off the ice. It translates a ton," Pilewicz said.
Things like driving a teammate to practice, playing IM basketball and tennis, or grabbing dinner together help build that trust and accountability.
DeNaples and Pilewicz agreed that the team's inability to meet in groups during the 2020-21 season made it harder for upperclassmen to instill the team's culture on incoming freshmen.
"We were in pods for the first two, three months," Pilewicz said. "We weren't really able to see each other much at all in or out of the rink… that year's freshmen were kind of on their own, because they were all in their own group."
But this past season when COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, the team worked hard to build the culture that had escaped them the previous season by spending more time together both in the arena and out.
"Everyone was always putting in the group chat every night, 'Hey, is anyone watching hockey tonight? Anybody wanna go get dinner?,'" Pilewicz said.
To DeNaples, Pilewicz's presence this past season was invaluable. He was essential to bringing the team's culture up, and instilling Penn State men's hockey values in the sophomore and freshmen classes. In making his decision to come back to Penn State for a fifth year, Pilewicz said he was so vocal about how much he loved coming back that DeNaples didn't need to ask him for advice. Everyone knew how sure he was in his decision, and DeNaples saw how happy he was to be a part of the program for another year.
Over Pilewicz's five years at Penn State, he's seen DeNaples become a leader on the team. Undoubtedly, he knows DeNaples will continue to have a profound impact on the team's culture next season.
"He's definitely not always the most outspoken guy, but he's always done things the right way," Pilewicz said. "From freshman year, he was always so steady, so calm. Just an unbelievable presence, and he obviously had a ton of success that year… but, what's been really cool is to see him grow into the leader that he is now."
What stands out about DeNaples' leadership skills to Gadowsky is his ability to lead the team well during difficult times.
"He's not just a great leader when things are going well, he is the guy that steps up at times when it's not comfortable or fun to be a leader," Gadowsky said. "He has no problem doing that, and that's why I think he has such great respect among his peers."
DeNaples is already planning how to keep growing the team's culture next season. They can't get complacent with "good," culture and need to continue to work on building a strong foundation, he said.
And a strong team culture brings on-ice success. DeNaples believes the team can get back to its championship form of 2019-20, and take home another Big Ten championship.
Approaching his final year of collegiate hockey, DeNaples has high hopes for next season.
"This school is just so amazing. I'm going to have the opportunity to get a master's degree, which is amazing for my life after hockey," DeNaples said. "Everything about Penn State – the people, Pegula, the football games – everything. It's just a special place… I'm so lucky to have this opportunity."
