Patience pays off for sophomore Nick McParland

By LINDA BOUVET, LSSU Sports Information Director

Lake Superior State, founded 29 years later than the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s next youngest member (Alaska, 1917), has assembled an impressive collection of success stories during his seven-decade history. Among the most-known is Jim Dowd’s saga of transforming from an unknown recruit from Brick, N.J., to LSSU’s all-time leading scorer in hockey.

Being Michigan’s smallest public school, LSSU has its share of challenges, and dealing with limited recruiting resources tops the list. The Lakers are known for taking a chance on a player like Dowd from time to time. Sophomore forward Nick McParland is well-aware that LSSU took a chance on him, and he is making the most of it. He’s on his way to becoming one of those success stories.

McParland bounced from high school to high school during his youth hockey career and failed to meet NCAA Clearinghouse standards. After finishing an impressive junior career with the Oakville Blades, he enrolled at LSSU as a full-time student in 2008-09. He was not eligible to practice with the team.

“As a player, my whole life was hockey, hockey, hockey,” McParland said. “I didn’t concentrate on school. I took easy classes so I could graduate. Sitting out helped in a way, because I got to concentrate on the school aspect, but it hurt my game a lot. I sat by myself in the weight room. I was on the ice by myself with no one to pass to, no one to help me with stuff. It was really tough.”

LSSU coach Jim Roque noted that Canadian student-athletes as a whole adapt to the academic rigors of college hockey better than the U.S. born players do, but they often struggle to meet NCAA eligibility standards because passing the ACT test isn’t the focal point of their education. In 2008-09, McParland was faced with the option of sitting out or trying to go pro. Roque credits McParland’s parents, Lawrence and Marlene, for trusting the process, paying Nick’s full tuition during the first year, and helping their son through a trying first year of college.

“Watching Nick practice during his redshirt year, it was easy to see the type of player he was capable of being,” said LSSU senior and McParland’s former suitemate, Matt Cowie. “In practice, he displayed a very powerful stride and had good speed. You could see his shot was very hard, and that he had that ability to score goals, which in turn could make him a dominant scorer in this league. I was excited to see him play in games.”

McParland played nearly 100 hockey games during the two seasons prior to his freshman year at LSSU. He led the Blades to the 2008 Dudley Hewitt Cup title. He was understandably anxious to take the ice after sitting out in 2009-10, and scored a goal in his first game – a 7-1 exhibition victory over Nipissing.

“It was definitely exciting -- that feeling of scoring and a few thousand people cheering,” McParland said. “But the game was really fast. It was a big jump. I don’t think I was ready for that. It happened so fast.”

“During his first season of playing games, I could tell that taking a year completely off of playing games had an effect like it would for anyone,” Cowie said. “He handled the situation like a professional and kept trying to get better every day. He did better than most people probably would, considering he had to sit out an entire year.”

Officially, McParland totaled three goals and three assists last season. He’s already surpassed that total in 2010-11 with 4-4—8 and leads the team in game-winning goals with two. He closed out the first half of the season with two goals and one assist during a split at Western Michigan while playing on LSSU’s top line with senior Rick Schofield and sophomore Domenic Monardo.

“I’m starting to do all of the little things defensively, and I’m kind of in position to create offense from that,” McParland said. “I felt a lot stronger on the ice (at the start of 2010-11 compared to the start of 2009-10). I’ve been working with Tony, our trainer, on quick feet drills and plyos, trying to get that extra jump. My top speed is good, but I needed to be better on my first few steps.”

McParland drew upon his winning experiences at Oakville, but realizes he still has work to do as the college game requires him to be at the top of his game every day.

“I have to give credit to the guys on the team,” he said. “My roommates (including former Lakers Pat Aubry and Pat Inglis) and the guys who were playing were very aware of my situation and never got down on me for my mistakes. They kept telling me, ‘It’s going to come.’”

“This year we have seen his hard work pay off,” Cowie said. “He looks more comfortable on the ice and is finding his role as a scorer. He has taken the time to learn the game and work within the systems, and is enjoying success because of it. He has undeniable talent, and has the potential to be a dominant scorer in the country.”

McParland grew up in a small town that offered single-A hockey as its highest level. When he was a pee wee, he moved to Thunder Bay, Ont., so he could play on a triple-A team.

“I had a cousin my age who I went to school with, and she had a group of friends,” McParland recalled. “I was young, 11-12 years old. She definitely helped me a lot. She’s a French teacher now.”

McParland credits his midget coach, Stew Robinson, with helping him develop as a player to the point he was drafted by the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit.

“He got me to the next level, but I don’t think I was there physically (to go to the OHL),” McParland said. “I matured at an older age. Once I was 18 or 19, I started to get bigger and stronger as a skater and player. When the window to the OHL closed, the window to the NCAA opened up.”

McParland, and current Lakers Kellan Lain and Monardo were teammates at Oakville, which is a heavily-scouted Ontario Junior Hockey League team.

“Oakville made it to the end, the RBC Cup, and I got to play until May,” McParland said. “A lot of schools got to watch me, but I couldn’t make it through the Clearinghouse. They didn’t want to talk to me if I couldn’t make it through the Clearinghouse. Coach Roque gave me a chance, and I’m grateful for that.”

Roque said that the hardest part of McParland’s first year at LSSU was not knowing what to work on because he had to do everything himself. Well, now he knows.

“As I get older as a hockey player, the window to the pros starts to get smaller,” McParland noted. “I don’t want to neglect any hockey or my goal to play in the NHL, but in reality I have to have something to fall back on. This is my chance to concentrate on school and find something in business that I like.”