A Very Tough Lineup to Crack

Their names just roll off the tongue. Dylan and Du. Maki and Mandes.

It’ll take a little more effort to scrape out their roles on the ice.

Harvard hockey welcomes four freshmen—defenseman Dylan Reese and forwards Kevin Du, Ryan Maki and Steve Mandes—to the fold this year. Although the Crimson graduated four players last year, three forwards and a goaltender, the theme for the freshmen will be waiting their turn, at least at first.

“You go to a certain point where you’ve got to give your opportunities to the older kids, and if they take advantage of the opportunities, they get to stay with it,” Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni says. “You owe that to the older players, but if they’re in there and not getting it done, you’ve got to give other people opportunities.”

All the freshmen arrive at Harvard with impressive hockey pedigrees, but they still have plenty to prove. Reese attracted the most fanfare after the New York Rangers selected him in the seventh round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

“We saw him as being a very intelligent player who sees the ice well, moves the puck well, and he’s very competitive, and that’s something that we really liked,” says Rangers scout Rich Brown.

Reese notes that coming to a team with 11 other draft picks shows that effort will determine playing time. Although he is a defenseman, Reese brings an offense-oriented mind set—not surprising for someone who was originally a center.

Last year Reese scored 11 goals and tallied 30 assists in 56 games with the Pittsburgh Forge (NAHL), which won the national championship. He attended the 2003 U.S. World Junior tryout camp and has played on two U.S. national teams.

With his experience, it isn’t hard to see why his former Forge coach John Becanic expects Reese to contend for ECAC Rookie of the Year and why Mazzoleni praises his play on both offense and defense.

“He’s got a lot of jump in his legs,” Mazzoleni says. “He plays well on both sides of the rink. He’s got the real quick feet to elude the initial forecheck and create offense.”

On the true offense side of things, Du fits nicely into the hole left by Aaron Kim ’03, who likewise centered the fourth line. Du brings two years of Junior-A experience with the St. Albert Saints (AJHL), including 25 goals and 40 assists in 48 regular season games last season. A self-described “playmaker,” he turned it on in the postseason with an AJHL high of 22 assists in 21 playoff games.

Mandes and Maki arrive with two years of experience together in the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP) and two international golds. Maki also played for the Strathroy Rockets (Junior-B) and Detroit Honeybaked Triple-A club.

But the rookies’ past success means very little on the collegiate level. The bigger players and faster pace put the burden on the freshmen to adjust. Mazzoleni says that adjustment is one reason Reese “has to earn his right to be on the power play.”

“I’ve never been one to put freshmen on the power play at the start of the season,” Mazzoleni says. “I don’t like to give freshmen a lot too quick. He’s got a very high end, and good offensive skills. He knows when to get involved in the offense, so you might see [him on the power play] eventually.”

So far, Reese, a 6’1, 200-pound righthanded shot, has been playing in pairings with left-shooting defensemen. He’s already showed off his ability to contribute to the offense, with a goal—off a Mandes assist—and an assist in the 8-0 exhibition win against Guelph on Oct. 24.

The freshman to notice in that game, however, was the 5’8 Du. He played smart, aggressive hockey, including a deke-and-feed assist on the Crimson’s second goal.

Gord Thibodeau, the former head coach and general manager of the Saints, expects it will take “a little while” for Du to get accustomed to college hockey but praised his creativity. So far, he has impressed with his work ethic.

“He’s a very crafty centericeman,” Mazzoleni says. “He’s a very explosive skater. He sees the ice well, and he competes hard. I’ve been really impressed during camp with his intensity.”

“We really don’t have any control over [playing time],” Du says. “The only thing that we can do is work hard.”

Mandes’ similar, all-out-effort attitude is a greater asset than his skills, according to former USNTDP coach Moe Mantha. Mandes actually lived with Mantha’s family for his U-18 year, when he scored 11 goals along with 10 assists.

“Steve is always willing to compete,” Mantha says. “He’s tenacious, works hard, takes to practice the way he wants to play the game.”

His new coach agrees.

“He’s a very tenacious, hard-working kid,” Mazzoleni says. “He’ll run through a wall for you. He’s got a high level of energy and toughness, and he’s an explosive skater. When you’re at the games, you’re going to notice him a lot, just because he’s always around the play.”

With such rave reviews, Mandes’s grit should help him compete for regular playing time. He notched a goal off a rebound in addition to his assist against Guelph.

The biggest of the bunch at 6’2, Maki has the size to develop into a power winger for the Crimson. Mazzoleni compared him to two other power forwards, junior Rob Flynn and senior Rob Fried, when praising Maki’s strength around the walls and net.

Last Friday, Maki appeared only in the third period but had a solid all-around performance. The unequal playing time of the four is to be expected as the coaching staff decides how to integrate the new faces into the Crimson’s game plan.

“Some [freshmen] might get key roles, but others might have to wait patiently and be humble,” Mazzoleni says.

The rookies echo each other when speaking of their desire to help the team and the opportunity to do so. Goals for the season are easily defined by Reese: “To work really hard every chance I get and contribute to this team’s run at a national championship.”

How they’ll contribute remains to be determined. That they’ll put in the effort is certain.

—Staff writer Brenda E. Lee can be reached at belee@fas.harvard.edu.