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Hendricks will stay at SCSU
By Bobby Hart
Published:
Thursday, July 31, 2003
After losing six seniors to graduation, junior Jeff Finger to the Colorado Avalanche, and freshman Jonathan Lehun to a Canadian Major Junior team, the SCSU men's hockey team was dying for some good news.
They received it early last week when Matt Hendricks said he'd return for his senior season instead of signing with the Nashville Predators, who drafted him in the fifth round in 2000 out of Blaine High School.
"At the beginning of the summer it was up in the air, but I was pushing toward leaving and starting my pro career," Hendricks said. "I started listening to the morale of the team and the way it sounded like it was going to be this upcoming season and that made me want to stay. My teammates and coaches were the major reasons why I stayed and my parents wanted me to stay for school reasons."
Heading into the first rebuilding season in a long time, with what looked to be only three seniors, five juniors, 12 sophomores, and seven freshmen, head coach Craig Dahl was prepared for anything.
"It's always 50-50 in some of those situations with underclassmen, so mentally I was prepared for it to go either way," Dahl said. "I think in the long run it'll turn out to be a good thing for him because he came straight out of high school. He didn't have the benefit of playing a year or two of juniors, but the progress he's made in the last three years has been tremendous. Obviously the opportunity for him to gain, not only an additional year of experience, but also the confidence that comes from dominating and being a leader is something you can't buy."
Hendricks also made his decision based on who Nashville signed from the European leagues. They signed Russian forwards Denis Arkhipov and Denis Platonov and traded for Washington Capitals forward Mike Farrell. As spots in the Nashville line-up rapidly filled, Hendricks' decision came down to ice time.
"(Nashville coaches) wanted me to leave and financially they made their mark but it came down to guaranteeing ice time and I knew by coming back to SCSU that I'd get a lot more ice time than playing for the American League," Hendricks said.
Instead of possibly fighting for ice time with Nashville's AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, Hendricks will likely get the maximum amount of ice time this season as a probable Husky captain. This year he will try to surpass his successful 2002-03 season, during which he scored a team-high of 18 goals.
"I'm going to put pressure on myself to put more points on the board but you can only do what you can do and everyone can only play within themselves," Hendricks said. "I'm going to be a leader in the locker room as much as I can, but more so, on the ice."
Hendricks remains confident that the Huskies can overcome the major gaps left in their lineups after losing their infamous high powered senior first line (Ryan Malone, Jon Cullen, and Joe Motzko), their starting senior goalie (Jake Moreland), and arguable their best defender (Finger).
"Everybody's been working hard and looking to have a successful season," he said. "I'm really excited and I hope it's going to be a break out year for us. I think the pawn that this team's going to have over the last few, is our unity because we know we have to be on the same page to win games. In the past we've leaned on our talent a little more and hopefully we can have guys step up this season to fill in the gaps that guys left after leaving at the end of last season."
The Huskies, who were recently ranked tenth of all NCAA Division I programs for attendance averaging 6,333 (school record), will begin the season with a seven game home-stand starting Oct. 17 against Wisconsin.
Husky Notebook
- Hendricks will follow the path of former Husky teammates Mark Hartigan and Ryan Malone who both optioned to stay a year longer than they had to. Hendricks said he talked with Hartigan, who said his decision to stay obviously worked out well for him. Hartigan was Hobey Baker candidate, for the top college player, in his final year with the Huskies in the 2001-02 season. This summer Hartigan and last season's Husky MVP Joe Motzko, who is working out at the NHC this summer, were signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets and will likely play for their farm system. They will join former Husky defenseman Duvie Westcott who will likely be seen on the Blue Jacket starting lineup.
- Jon Cullen is still waiting for a career opportunity in the hockey world. He had an opportunity in Italy but doesn't seem interested in going over sees.
- Moreland will probably play in the East Coast League unless another opportunity knocks.
- Incoming freshman Nate Raduns and Justin Fletcher are working out at the NHC.
- Mike Doyle has gained twenty pounds of muscle mass while working out in Alaska with a personal trainer.
- Huskies on their way to the infamous Chuck Grillo's Minnesota Hockey Camp in Brainerd include: upcoming seniors Ryan LaMere and Colin Peters, juniors Mike Doyle and Dave Iannazzo, and sophomores Brian McCormack, Billy Hengen and T.J. McElroy will probably join them.
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