UND Hockey: Nick Mattson's former coach gives him kudos

#159977387 / gettyimages.com

I wrote an article for the Hockey Writers and one of the subjects that I covered was UND defenseman Nick Mattson. (Click to View) ... Mattson is one of my favorite current UND players and he's a lot of fun to cover.

EB: North Dakota defenseman Nick Mattson trained and worked at Breakaway Hockey, how has Nick developed as a player?

AB: Well, I wish I could watch Nick play more games but I was really impressed how he ended the collegiate season this year.  He seemed to play a lot of minutes and play in every situation.  Confidence is everything for a hockey player and he seemed to play with a lot of belief in his game at the end of the year.

EB: What has impressed you the most about Nick’s game the last three seasons? What do you like about his game?

AB: His skills are fantastic: Skating, puck handling, vision.   As a youth player he was dominant in Minnesota hockey.  I know there is so much more structure at the collegiate and professional levels but the game still comes down to great players making plays.  Nick is capable of making special plays.  I would like to see him continue to jump into the play more and shoot more from the blue line.  You have to get the puck to the net to be a great offensive defenseman at the D1 level.

Breakaway Academy pioneers hockey-focused schooling in Chaska

KMSP-TV

Here’s a nice story about my brother-in-law Andy Brink and the school where he’s the hockey coach.

CHASKA, Minn. (KMSP) - Education has evolved over the past few decades with charter schools and others that focus intensively on music, theater and the arts -- but a new school in Chaska may be the first to cater to the hockey set.

The middle school students who spoke with FOX 9 News about the new school did so with enthusiasm, and their parents say the focus on hockey has their kids are highly-motivated to learn.

Even though it's not unusual for kids to hit the ice after school this time of year, there are a lot of questions being directed toward a teaching institution that puts a priority on a single sport.

"We're a private school, licensed teachers, small classroom sizes combined with specific hockey training," explained coach and co-founder Andy Brink. "There's nothing else like it in the Twin Cities."

Combining hockey with academics has been a five-year vision for Brink, and practice is a part of the daily school curriculum at the new Breakaway Academy in Chaska -- but that doesn't mean students get a pass on grades if they have skill on the ice.

In case anyone is interested, here’s the link to Breakaway Academy and Breakaway Hockey...