Lighting the Lamp
Hockey reporter Alex DiFilippo and Sports Editor Matt Bishop take you inside both MSU hockey and professional hockey four times a week.
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Freshman Q&A: Matt Crandell
When it came time for freshman defenseman Matt Crandell to decide where he wanted to play his college hockey, he had a big question on his mind.
Freshman Q&A: Daultan Leveille
Freshman Daultan Leveille is ready for game action. And he better be. Head coach Rick Comley has made it clear that the freshmen are going to need to step up and contribute offensively and Leveille might be the biggest-impact freshman to join the Spartans ranks this season.
Leveille is garnering a lot of attention. He was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft this summer.
The St. Catharines, Ontario native played two seasons for the St. Catharine’s Falcons of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League and recorded 48 goals and 53 assists in his time with the club.
Comley has said Leveille will likely be starting out as the center on the third line. Here’s what the youngster had to say about the upcoming season.
The State News: You’ve been one of the player’s coach Comley has said is going to need to step up into a scoring role right away. Are you feeling any added pressure coming into the season?
Daultan Leveille: I don’t really feel the pressure. Scoring comes with time and you learn to play with your linemates and to develop as a team. Everyone develops at different paces, but hopefully we can always produce. You just want to work your best and hopefully the numbers will go up.
SN: How excited are you to get the season started?
DL: It’s crazy. Since the first day we got here we all just wanted to get on the ice and get the season started. I’m really looking forward to it.
SN: For the team’s first road trip, you guys are heading to Boston to compete in the Ice Breaker Tournament. Do you have any expectations for the first trip?
DL: We are all looking forward to it. It will be really important to start the year off well because it sets the pace for the team. But it’s really just the first game and you have to build on that. It really depends where you are at the end of the year — not the first game.
SN: How has it been in practice trying to score on Jeff Lerg and competing with some of the upperclassmen?
DL: It’s a big difference from playing back at home. It’s almost like starting off from scratch. You are up at a higher level and when you keep moving up and it gets harder and harder.
SN: As a freshman, are there any special tasks you have to do around the week for the upperclassmen?
DL: Not really. You start the year out as a freshman but after the first week everyone is equal. It’s a great team atmosphere and all the older guys are great role models. They aren’t really pushing us around.
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