Andrew Mordasky named March GSL Player of the Month

Players Name: Andrew Mordasky
Age: 11
Team: Enfield Eagles
Age Level: PeeWee
Coach: Mitch Kraucunas
Nominated by: Mitch Kraucunas
Relationship: Head Coach

1. What makes hockey special for the player? Why? If you were to look for Andrew out on the ice last year, you wouldn’t have found him. He didn’t play last year. He, up until this year, has not played hockey at all. Last year he was out on a home made ice rink in his back yard that his dad built, teaching himself how to skate. He’s always wanted to play hockey but his parents wouldn’t let him because of the physical contact and that fact that he didn’t know how to skate, so he proved to his parents that he really wanted to play hockey, and he went out and did just that. He’d wake himself up at 6AM on the weekends and during school breaks and go out on his home made rink and skate and skate and skate. What makes Hockey Special for Andrew is, “the Connection with Teammates, the gliding on the ice and the Feeling you get when you setup a play…and it works. He likes that you have to be in sync with your teammates to be successful. He Loves the Fast Pace, the wind in your face, ALL the Action and the way you have to Push your body.

2. What is their favorite hockey experience? Andrew’s favorite hockey experience is when he was rushing the down in the offensive zone, taking the puck wide to draw the defenseman towards him to get him away from his line mate that wash skating to the front of the net. As the defenseman got near him, he passed the puck over, the perfect pass, (well, Almost perfect) to his teammate how stuck his stick out and just “ticked” the puck wide of the goal. But when he came back to the bench, the coach said to him jokingly, “the object is to put the puck in the net, not past it !!! Andrew just Smiled and shook his head as to say, yeah coach, you’re right.

3. Other reason player deserves to be honored as the player of the month? Other reasons why Andrew deserves to be honored. In the beginning of this season, Andrew was in the Enfield Hockey Associations, Instructions Division or Learn to Skate Program. If you were to see him NOW, you would say, “NO WAY” was this kid a First Year Skater. Andrew comes to EVERY Practice and EVEY Game with a “BIG” in mean “BIG” Smile on his face, no matter how hard we skate him during a practice or push him to try hard during a game, this kid is out there giving 110% or more every time he hits the ice… but the Best Part about it is that when he leaves the Practice, exhausted, sweat pouring off his head or after a Game, no matter what the outcome, Andrew leaves with an even BIGGER Smile because he knows he went out the gave his all. As a coach, I don’t have to tell Andrew something twice, he’s eager to learn, he wants to get better. He knows he’s a first year player and just wants to fit in with the rest of the team, he doesn’t want to miss a pass or be out of position so that his team will want to pass to him all the time, so they won’t look at him and say, I’m not passing to him, he just came from Instructional, he doesn’t know how to receive a pass or know his position !!!! Well, as a Coach, I don’t worry about that when it comes to Andrew, like I said, EVERY TIME he steps out on the ice, he’s giving it his all, And then Some !!! I couldn’t ask anything more from a Player. He DESERVES this Award More then He knows. I’ll take a Full Team of players like Andrew anytime, any place, anywhere!!!!