By Ryan Stieg
The world of college hockey is frequently changing, and a big one is occurring this season as Canadian Hockey League players are allowed to play at the NCAA Division I level for the first time.
For St. Thomas, that meant it could sign talented forward Nathan Pilling out of the Western Hockey League to their roster. Not only was it a great fit for the Tommies, but for Pilling as well.
“Growing up before even playing in the Western League, I always wanted to go to school,” Pilling said in a phone interview Monday. “I had pretty good grades growing up and you don’t really learn a lot of about college hockey until you get to that Under-18 age and that was something that really excited me, especially because I wasn’t drafted into the Western League. But it ended up being just a good situation for me to go to Moose Jaw when I was 17. So, I totally lucked out that the rule did change. I was in my 20-year-old season, but the big factor to come, it’s just more runway as a player to develop and turn to the pro game. Just to have more time to practice, hone my skills, get stronger, and get smarter before making that inevitable jump was something that was really hard to pass up.”
A Calgary native, Pilling started his WHL career in Moose Jaw Warriors before moving on to the Edmonton Oil Kings and then finally, to the Seattle Thunderbirds. That last move was a particularly interesting one for him.
“That was a very crazy story,” he said. “I was a part of the Oil Kings in Edmonton there and our team was planning on meeting in Prince George, British Columbia, which is about as far away from home, and really anywhere in the league as you could get. So, we’re all planning on flying there and then starting our road trip and heading home from there. So, I’m up at 5:30 in the morning to be at the airport at six and I got a call at about 5:45 from our GM to tell me ‘Hang tight, we traded you.” But because of the Christmas break, there was a trade freeze in place. So, they couldn’t tell me where I was going until the next morning. So that was a whole day of just wondering and speculating and high nerves through me and my whole family. I ended up having to fly to Edmonton to go collect the rest of my stuff anyway. So just a total gong show day.
“So, as I got into Edmonton, part of the reason we had to go on the road trip was because Cirque du Soleil had booked into Edmonton for three or four night shows. So, I came into the rink to weave my way into the dressing room and was ducking through trapeze equipment and costume trucks and all that stuff to try to make sure I get in and out quietly. I won’t forget that one that’s for sure.”
Once he got to Seattle, Pilling had an explosive season where he scored 37 goals and racked up 67 points in 67 games, averaging a point per game. Pilling then joined the large group of Canadian junior players heading to college hockey. While Pilling has enjoyed his time playing at the college level, that hasn’t been the case for everyone as some players have already packed up and went back to Canada before the first month of the season had been completed. However, Pilling thinks he’s made the right choice to stick with the Tommies.
“It’s pretty early to say, but so far, I have no complaints over the decision I made,” he said. “I think there is benefit to it for guys just to have more time to grow and develop before turning pro. Obviously, there’s different circumstances with guys and I was never drafted. I think for sure there is value in coming to play college hockey.”
When asked what is the biggest change from the WHL to college hockey, Pilling said there’s several things.
“I mean the easiest answer, being a bigger guy (6-foot-4), is the size of the game,” he said. “The size and the speed. Everyone’s that much bigger, that much smarter, that much older. I think the biggest thing is just the demand. You only play half the amount of games and you prepare every week for every game. Just the demand to execute and really perform within every detail, I think, is the biggest change. I think, in the future, it will help me specifically try to move into the pro game.”
The Preseason CCHA Co-Rookie of the Year, Pilling has already made an impact for the Tommies. He scored the game-winning goal in the season opener at St. Cloud State, and he scored the game-winner in overtime at Minnesota State on Saturday. Perhaps his most notable contribution so far is scoring the first-ever men’s goal at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena, which was a shorthanded breakaway against Providence, and the second of two shorties he’s scored this year.
“I’ve never been really a shorthanded guy,” he said. “I’ve been more of a power play player. So, that’s a credit for the coaching staff here on turning me into a more 200-foot player and a penalty killer to put me in those situations. So, I’m just happy to be able to contribute for the guys on a couple of those. I don’t think a shorthanded breakaway was on many bingo cards that night (at Anderson Arena), that’s for sure.”
The Tommies are on a bye this weekend before playing a home game against St. Cloud next Tuesday and Pilling thinks the bye will benefit UST.
“I think this week comes at a great time for us as a team,” he said. “We definitely hit some bumps on our first nine games here but a great time for us to take a breather, have a full work week and rest the bodies up a little bit before St. Cloud on Tuesday.”
Expectations were high for the Tommies heading into this season as they’re seen as a favorite to win the CCHA, but Pilling thinks the Tommies could achieve more than just the MacNaughton Cup.
“I mean, selfishly, I think we’re much more capable than just that,” he said. “But as for the expectations, there’s no added pressure or expectations from anyone outside our room that we don’t have for ourselves. Especially for that senior class that had to duke it out at the St. Thomas Ice Arena for years and not have a proper dressing room and whatnot, and be part of some dark days of the program. We think about those guys every day and for all the work that’s been put in for this program to be where it is right now.”