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CANTLON'S CORNER: BOO NIEVES CARVING A NEW CAREER AT CENTER

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack's Boo Nieves brought his electric drum set to the Connecticut capitol as the musically inclined forward is not only working on perfecting his musical talent but is also working on making his own beat as a centerman as the new season that has commenced. “We have a lot of time on our hands, so I want to keep busy and stay sharp on the drums. I can play drums and piano a lot, still learning and play that pretty well. I play guitar, but really not that well,“ Nieves said with a laugh. Accepting the role of a defensive center is a tough one to embrace when headlines go to the goal scorers and point producers. On the one hand, you want to play as many minutes as possible in Hartford, because when he would get to New York, he would be a bottom-six forward. One the other hand though, to prepare for the role requires some sacrifice, even on minutes, and special teams and as a player, you'd play to a different beat. “It’s definitely a challenge for me. As a hockey player, you want to go out and score goals and get assists to help the team here. However, to get back there (to the NHL) they're doing a good job at getting me to manage my time here. So, I’m just gonna make the best of the time I have out there. It’s strange, no question, but I’m learning to handle it.” said Nieves reflectively. He did get his first goal of the season on a breakaway off a perfect lead pass that was banked off the center ice boards from Matt Beleskey. Nieves' attention to detail, by keeping his stick on the ice, and then by following his own rebound, paid off. Nieves' maturation as a player was demonstrated clearly in this play. “Beleskey is a veteran and he knows how to do those things and Kravtsov, he is a new guy and we're breaking him in. Those guys made my job pretty easy to put it in,” Nieves said. “In my first year, I might have passed up on the net on that play and turned my head in frustration when the first shot didn’t go in. I stayed with it, and was able to put it in and make it count.” Working on the 10-20 foot area around the net has been another aspect that he is building on to add to his playing calling card. “I'm really working on being a more hard-nosed player in front. Maybe the past few years, I was waiting to see somebody initiate the play, now I‘m taking the initial move to knock the player off the puck and make that first play,” said Nieves. Despite the line combo switch, the team felt last weekend his work with Beleskey gave him a template to build on. “You know when you come in with speed, he always is in position and you see the whacks he takes in front to be able to find the room for a tip-in or to find that rebound, which makes a difference.” For Pack head coach, Kris Knoblauch, and the staff getting a player to train for a specified NHL role clearly requires patience and persuasion. “When he gets the call, he’s gonna be a fourth-line guy, penalty killer, hard-to-play-against and getting into the offensive zone being able to protect and hold onto the puck, and of course taking important defensive zone draws. "I want him to play like he will with the Rangers. He isn’t on our power play now, but when we need him, we will absolutely use him. We're trying to balance getting these guys ready (for the NHL) playing in situations they will be involved in and we're playing him a lot here. “ His quick progress has Knoblauch excited. “The first night against Charlotte he wasn’t good on faceoffs, since then, he has been dominant. We want to put him in those situations with the puck as much as possible. There are about 60-70 faceoffs a game. We hope he’ll be in on 30 of them.” Selling a player on the defined role has its drawbacks and requires career diplomatic skills. “We had that conversation this week with two players. Everyone wants to have the ice time and score 30-40 goals, and they feel if they get noticed they will get called up by being atop the team in scoring. That’s true, but Boo and (Steven) Fogarty can lead this team in scoring and get top-six minutes, but I don’t think either player will fulfill that role with the Rangers. They want to help this team as much as possible, but they also want to work on their game and what will give them the best chance to get called up by the Rangers. "They both have been very receptive and professional in handling it." Nieves started last year dealing with post-concussion issues, but this year he is fresh and ready to go and focused solely on hockey. “It’s nice to start the year playing that’s for sure. Getting back to fundamentals and get everything in place and getting my timing in pace." The change in coaching, while sounding repetitive, has been a major change after years of stagnation for the Wolf Pack. The stagnation came for a variety of reasons. “We're not being over-coached, but we're getting the information to nail systems down, but allowing us to play. Not moving us to one side of the ice or something like that, just making sure we are in the right spots when the puck is dumped in on the attack giving us several different options to have us coming in waves.” Nieves is now in a leadership role as an assistant captain. That too is part of the musical ice score he is working on. “We have a nice core we're making here, and each weekend, we have been doing different things, but we're scratching clawing and were in games this year. It’s a good sign with this group were ready to battle and play.” Learning to play in the critical parts of the game, whether it's his major PK duty, or at the end of game-situations Nieves wants the challenge. “We're learning to be in the right spots. The six on five we had, we're learning how to react and how not to get running around and stay compact, and that's to play smart and off each other. Be patient when the center goes, then you go, or the other way (winger, then center),“ Nieves said. "He's at the jumping-off point and is evolving well early. We're not getting into the situation where it is it you go or I go, we know when to go. That’s the part of initiative I was describing.” He spent the offseason training in Connecticut and he and Rangers head coach, David Quinn, share a common Connecticut high school hockey school experience at Kent. “We talked about it a bit. We both loved our experiences there, and it's kinda cool to have something like that in common with your NHL coach. I didn’t expect it but going to a boarding school I met some really good people who I'm still friends with today,” Nieves said. His Nutmeg State ties also extend to two teammates who are now in Maine, with the team's ECHL affiliate, the Mariners, Terrence Wallin, and Ryan Dmowski both played at Gunnery Prep in Washington, CT. “I had a lot of battles with Wallin back in the day and a few other players who are now in the NHL, so we're scattered everywhere.” The drummer keeps the rhythm of a song, and Nieves hopes to be the beating it for his teammates leading to a winning season in Hartford, and perhaps as one of the bright lights of NYC as well. NOTES: Lots of players on the plus side of plus/minus. They're led by Filip Chytil, who's a plus-8. Ryan Lindgren is a plus-6, while Phil Di Guiseppe and Jeff LoVerde are both a plus-5. Logan Brown, the son of ex-Whaler, Jeff Brown, was recalled by Ottawa from Belleville. Ex-Sound Tiger, Alan Quine, was sent back to Stockton by Calgary. The first AHL trade of the season has Springfield sending defenseman Ian McCoshen to Rockford for one-time Rangers draft pick, Alexsei Saarela, who didn’t make the Chicago Blackhawks out of training camp. The Islanders are working on a deal to trade mercurial RW Josh Ho-Sang, who has refused to report to Bridgeport after clearing waivers. Two former Salisbury Prep players on the move. Francis Drolet, who played summer/winter hockey with the Newcastle Northstars (Australia-AIHL), signs with HC Amiens of the French Elite Magnus League. A current player, Matt DeBoer, announces an oral commit to Holy Cross (AHA) in 2021-22. His father, of course, is Peter DeBoer, the current head coach of the San Jose Sharks and his brother Jack is a sophomore at Boston University (HE). Former Texas Stars Samuel Laberge elects to play closer to home signing with the Sorel-Tracy Epriviers (LNAH). Read the full article

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