CHI recently had a chance to catch up with Regis Jesuit Senior Goaltender, David Nowicki. Nowicki was recently named the 2008 CHSAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player after winning the state title with Regis, and he is heading off to play Division III college hockey at Hope College in Michigan this coming fall.

CHI: What other sports do you participate in besides hockey?

Nowicki: I played basketball and baseball up through the end of middle school. Since I was playing club hockey the seasons didn’t coincide with basketball but when I moved up to Major AA my freshman year I stopped playing other sports. I played Major AA again my sophomore year before joining Regis’ team my junior year.

CHI: What is your earliest hockey memory?

Nowicki: Oh geez. It would have to be at the old Foothills Rink as a Mini Mite when everybody would fight to see who got to play what and the goalie position sort of rotated around.

CHI: Have you always been a goalie then?

Nowicki: Well, like I said in Mini Mites everyone rotated and I played some goal and some defense and then when I got to Squirts I decided goalie was it. There weren’t too many kids that wanted to play goalie at that level so it worked out great. I started doing some camps and that was it. SAVES goaltending camp with Ray Dyke was the first real serious goaltending camp I did. It was four hours of hard goaltending per day. I started going to SAVES as a Pee Wee and did it through my sophomore year.

CHI: What goalies did you grow up watching?

Nowicki: I grew up watching Patrick Roy and David Aebischer and now it’s mainly Peter Budaj and Jose Theodore.

CHI: No guess at who your favorite team might be then. Who has been the biggest inspiration to you as a hockey player?

Nowicki: My dad. He grew up playing hockey and I wanted to be like him. He and my mom have sacrificed a lot of time for me to get where I am now.

CHI: Did you ever dream you would be named the Most Outstanding Player in the CHSAA Tournament and lead Regis to the state championship?

Nowicki: No, I honestly never thought of it. I always thought about winning a title with Majors or Bantams and what that would feel like, but I never thought I would get a chance to do it with a high school team. And it was really cool having the fans and families all there to support us. Hopefully we started a tradition at Regis.

CHI: Did you see a drop-off in competition when you stepped onto the high school ice or was it quite the contrary?

Nowicki: It was a little different coming from Major AA. There is a lot of high school teams made up of Major AA players, so it was similar in that regard but as soon as you started playing the top teams they were deeper and stronger and instead of just facing one tough line you were facing two or three.

CHI: Would you say the skill level has improved even more in the last few years?

Nowicki: Yeah, for sure. I think high school hockey is going to be the new thing instead of club. Playing with your school you have that pride and that recognition. Kids down the street know who you play for. It’s a lot different than club.

CHI: Did you ever think you would be playing college hockey?

Nowicki: I’d thought about it, but never thought it would actually happen. I thought I’d be going to college simply for academics. When I visited Hope I met with the coach and practiced at their rink and we both liked what we saw.

CHI: Do you feel playing in front of the larger crowds that the high school atmosphere offers has helped to prepare you a little bit for what it might be like in college?

Nowicki: Yeah, my junior year I was pretty nervous playing in front of crowds. I knew if I let one in they could be all over me in an instance, but by the time of the playoffs my senior year I was able to tune them out or feed off the energy and keep the game going the way I wanted.

CHI: What is your best hockey memory to date?

Nowicki: Definitely winning the state championship.

CHI: I had a feeling you might say that. Now, if things go exceptionally well for you at Hope do you have any thoughts of possibly transferring to a Division I program down the line?

Nowicki: There is a possibility of it. Hopefully if I do well there it could happen and maybe I could go somewhere and win a national title.

CHI: If that was to happen would you have a preference of where you would like to play, maybe at one of the many D-I programs in Michigan or Colorado or somewhere entirely different all together?
 
Nowicki: Boston College, being a Jesuit school, definitely.  

CHI: Any thoughts of where your hockey career might go after college at this time?
Nowicki: Right now I just want to play with what’s in front of me. I want to be open, go to college and enjoy that and whatever comes next for me, then make the best of it.

CHI: Good luck to you David and thanks for your time.

Nowicki: Thank you.

A FEW OTHER PLAYERS FROM THE STATE OF COLORADO THAT ARE BOUND FOR THE COLLEGE GAME:

Drew Shore, the 5’11” forward of Englewood has been playing in the U.S. National Developmental Program. He has signed a letter of intent to play for George Gwozdecky at the University of Denver. Shore is still one year away from joining the Pioneers and should begin his career at Magness in 2009.

Sean Lorenz, a 6’1” defenseman from Littleton, has been playing in the U.S. National Developmental Program and will be skating for the NCAA runner-up Notre Dame Fighting Irish next season.

Michael Sdao, a 6’4”, 210-pound defenseman from Niwot, has been playing junior hockey in the USHL for the Lincoln Stars. Sdao has signed to play his college hockey for the Princeton Tigers.

Mike Garman, a 6’1” goaltender from Vail, has been busy tending net for the Nanaimo Clippers of the British Columbia Hockey League. He has signed to play with Cornell.

Nick Carey, the CHSAA player of the year for 2008 and a teammate of David Nowicki at Regis will be honing his skills as a forward at Division III Hobart.