LakerBaker
New member
Re: LSSU Lakers 2016-17
Methinks you will be seeing a lot more out of Josh Nenadal, man.
Spend 10 minutes chatting with sophomore forward Josh Nenadal and it’s easy to understand why the Soo BlueLiners voted him last season’s recipient of the award named in the organization’s honor.
Nenadal, a native of Brecksville, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland, is from a “blue-collar” family and a proud “blue-collar” hockey player. The former Youngstown captain resembles everything that Lake Superior State’s hockey tradition was built upon.
“My dad (David) is a salesman, and my mom (Lynne) battled cancer for four years, then eventually had me,” Nenadal said. “Neither are college graduates. I’m the first in my family to attend. My dad left college to take care of my mom.”
Nenadal, a 5-8, 190-pound forward, describes himself as a “meat-and-potatoes” player with team goals in mind. LSSU senior captain Gus Correale noted that his roommate and former linemate always puts winning ahead of personal achievement.
“Chip pucks, hit players – not high-skilled or high-risk plays,” Nenadal said. “It’s not that I can’t make those plays, but that’s not what I’ve been told to do. I’m from a blue-collar family and want to do the little things that coaches want me to do.”
“He loves to play in the corners, get in guys’ faces,” Correale said. “He’s a strong kid. Whether he’s in the faceoff circle, in the corners or in the lockerroom, he’s intense. It’s pretty funny actually…I live with him, and he’s a team guy on the ice and a team guy off the ice.”
Nenadal was a captain for three seasons with the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League and strives to follow the example of 2015-16 captain Austin McKay, who also provided great leadership to the Lakers while serving as a role player.
“He showed me what it took to be a leader,” Nenadal said. “He came back his senior year and didn’t know what would happen. He showed me what it takes to be a captain. You have to be a positive guy no matter what the outcome is…My philosophy no matter where I go is to have a hard work ethic and a voice to where the guys look up and listen to what I’m saying.”
Correale joked that it’s “hard not to hear him!”
Nenadal is a regular in the lineup, but rarely plays two weekends in a row with the same line. Correale noted that Nenadal’s role doesn’t change despite bouncing from line to line and that having more confidence during his second collegiate season has led to consistency on the ice, especially when it comes to protecting the puck.
“A lot of guys switch around,” Correale said. “He stays consistent and is not trying to change his game. Whether it’s the power play or penalty kill, he’s getting pucks deep, bringing intensity. He just plays hard.”
Prior to playing for Youngstown, Nenadal played two seasons for the USHL’s Waterloo Blackhawks. After a great experience in Waterloo’s hockey environment, he had the rare fortune of playing three junior seasons at a rink that was an hour from home.
“We finished first in our league (in 2014-15), then got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs,” said Nenadal in reference to his final season at Youngstown. “I had no college commitments. I was that guy, waiting in the summer and trying to figure out what to do. I had a couple visits to DIII schools in the New York area. I had committed to Oswego when I got a call from Coaches Whitten and Metro to come in for the next year. I committed on the spot. Wherever the opportunity was, I was going to jump on it.
“I didn’t know where Lake State was, and I didn’t know about the Sault. I had been an Ohio guy. But I loved it the minute I got here. I’m a small-school oriented guy. I like that it’s close-knit and everybody knows everybody. After orientation, I couldn’t wait to come back for my freshman year.”
“He was a leader back in juniors and loves it here,” Correale said. “He’s happy to be in the spot he’s in – in a leadership role…He played five years of juniors and has seen as much hockey, or just a little bit less than me. He has experience in leadership roles and life in general. He has a lot of independence off the ice.”
Having a mom who conquered cancer and a grandfather who lost his life to cancer, Nenadal appreciates what his parents have done to not only support his hockey career, but to survive. Putting the ups and downs of college hockey into perspective comes naturally to him.
“There is always a bigger picture,” he said. “You’re not going to win every game. It’s how a team comes together and what you do with that loss. A loss is just a loss. We’re able to play a lot more hockey together. We have such a talented group of guys and we’re just not getting those bounces right now.”
Nenadal, who has two goals and six points in 22 games this season, savors playing the toughest competition the schedule has to offer. He knew the Lakers’ hot October start didn’t reflect the caliber of competition that was coming later in the season.
“I’d rather play top-20 teams all year long than the bottom of the bracket just to get wins,” he said. “Otherwise you are not pushing yourself…It doesn’t matter who we play. They are just hockey teams. Coming from the USHL, a lot of our guys have played against top guys. It’s not like we’re playing against guys we haven’t seen before.”
Nenadal was part of a freshman class that played key roles last season, and this year’s rookie class is going through a similar learning curve.
“We’re learning what it takes to battle, to grind it out with a high-caliber team,” he said. “If you take your foot of the gas, they will shove the puck down your throat. Young guys are playing big minutes like we did last year. We’ve gone through some struggles, but we can saddle up and make a big playoff push.”
Ringy Dingy!
Methinks you will be seeing a lot more out of Josh Nenadal, man.
Spend 10 minutes chatting with sophomore forward Josh Nenadal and it’s easy to understand why the Soo BlueLiners voted him last season’s recipient of the award named in the organization’s honor.
Nenadal, a native of Brecksville, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland, is from a “blue-collar” family and a proud “blue-collar” hockey player. The former Youngstown captain resembles everything that Lake Superior State’s hockey tradition was built upon.
“My dad (David) is a salesman, and my mom (Lynne) battled cancer for four years, then eventually had me,” Nenadal said. “Neither are college graduates. I’m the first in my family to attend. My dad left college to take care of my mom.”
Nenadal, a 5-8, 190-pound forward, describes himself as a “meat-and-potatoes” player with team goals in mind. LSSU senior captain Gus Correale noted that his roommate and former linemate always puts winning ahead of personal achievement.
“Chip pucks, hit players – not high-skilled or high-risk plays,” Nenadal said. “It’s not that I can’t make those plays, but that’s not what I’ve been told to do. I’m from a blue-collar family and want to do the little things that coaches want me to do.”
“He loves to play in the corners, get in guys’ faces,” Correale said. “He’s a strong kid. Whether he’s in the faceoff circle, in the corners or in the lockerroom, he’s intense. It’s pretty funny actually…I live with him, and he’s a team guy on the ice and a team guy off the ice.”
Nenadal was a captain for three seasons with the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League and strives to follow the example of 2015-16 captain Austin McKay, who also provided great leadership to the Lakers while serving as a role player.
“He showed me what it took to be a leader,” Nenadal said. “He came back his senior year and didn’t know what would happen. He showed me what it takes to be a captain. You have to be a positive guy no matter what the outcome is…My philosophy no matter where I go is to have a hard work ethic and a voice to where the guys look up and listen to what I’m saying.”
Correale joked that it’s “hard not to hear him!”
Nenadal is a regular in the lineup, but rarely plays two weekends in a row with the same line. Correale noted that Nenadal’s role doesn’t change despite bouncing from line to line and that having more confidence during his second collegiate season has led to consistency on the ice, especially when it comes to protecting the puck.
“A lot of guys switch around,” Correale said. “He stays consistent and is not trying to change his game. Whether it’s the power play or penalty kill, he’s getting pucks deep, bringing intensity. He just plays hard.”
Prior to playing for Youngstown, Nenadal played two seasons for the USHL’s Waterloo Blackhawks. After a great experience in Waterloo’s hockey environment, he had the rare fortune of playing three junior seasons at a rink that was an hour from home.
“We finished first in our league (in 2014-15), then got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs,” said Nenadal in reference to his final season at Youngstown. “I had no college commitments. I was that guy, waiting in the summer and trying to figure out what to do. I had a couple visits to DIII schools in the New York area. I had committed to Oswego when I got a call from Coaches Whitten and Metro to come in for the next year. I committed on the spot. Wherever the opportunity was, I was going to jump on it.
“I didn’t know where Lake State was, and I didn’t know about the Sault. I had been an Ohio guy. But I loved it the minute I got here. I’m a small-school oriented guy. I like that it’s close-knit and everybody knows everybody. After orientation, I couldn’t wait to come back for my freshman year.”
“He was a leader back in juniors and loves it here,” Correale said. “He’s happy to be in the spot he’s in – in a leadership role…He played five years of juniors and has seen as much hockey, or just a little bit less than me. He has experience in leadership roles and life in general. He has a lot of independence off the ice.”
Having a mom who conquered cancer and a grandfather who lost his life to cancer, Nenadal appreciates what his parents have done to not only support his hockey career, but to survive. Putting the ups and downs of college hockey into perspective comes naturally to him.
“There is always a bigger picture,” he said. “You’re not going to win every game. It’s how a team comes together and what you do with that loss. A loss is just a loss. We’re able to play a lot more hockey together. We have such a talented group of guys and we’re just not getting those bounces right now.”
Nenadal, who has two goals and six points in 22 games this season, savors playing the toughest competition the schedule has to offer. He knew the Lakers’ hot October start didn’t reflect the caliber of competition that was coming later in the season.
“I’d rather play top-20 teams all year long than the bottom of the bracket just to get wins,” he said. “Otherwise you are not pushing yourself…It doesn’t matter who we play. They are just hockey teams. Coming from the USHL, a lot of our guys have played against top guys. It’s not like we’re playing against guys we haven’t seen before.”
Nenadal was part of a freshman class that played key roles last season, and this year’s rookie class is going through a similar learning curve.
“We’re learning what it takes to battle, to grind it out with a high-caliber team,” he said. “If you take your foot of the gas, they will shove the puck down your throat. Young guys are playing big minutes like we did last year. We’ve gone through some struggles, but we can saddle up and make a big playoff push.”
Ringy Dingy!