Brian Strait

update - 6/21/2006

Brian Strait entered the Satellite Program when he was 12 years old in 2000. In 2000 and 2001(this is the 1st year of the 11-year-old program), Brian attended every session(Holy Cross Mondays, Salem State - Tuesdays, Blue Hills Regional School - Wednesdays & Thursdays, South Boston - Saturdays & Sundays) except one. He attended a wedding. That is 55 sessions.

When he was 14 he went with the Massachusetts team to Stockholm, Sweden. In his 1st 3 years in MASTP he attended every on ice session, about 32 sessions at 12 & 13 and including being on the state of Mass Team at 14 about 30 more sessions, including those in Stockholm.

In the winter of 2001 & 2002 Brian attended the MASTP Extension Program on Sunday nights. This was a strength and conditioning program offered for several years.

Brian did not want to miss any of the training. He wanted to be BETTER at 18 years old. So he TRAINED. He did not participate in spring or summer tournaments although he was pressured to. Why is there "pressure" to do these things? Who are the people that put the "pressure" on? Don't they know players should train properly?

As you can see Brian knew that training properly and taking time off from skating would be the optimal way to reach his potential. When he 1st arrived in Ann Arbor after the physical testing, he was the most fit player on the team and became the leader/captain.

You can copy his path, if you chose to.

Strait talk? He's a fine prospect
Teen may be NHL draft 1st-rounder

By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff | June 21, 2006
As the top-ranked New England player in the NHL draft, Brian Strait(MASTP 2000 - 2006, Brian still skates in MASTP Over 19 program) might be picked in Saturday's opening round, and that would cap a two-year run that almost any teenager would hope for.
For the past two seasons, Strait was captain of the National Team Development Program, USA Hockey's petri dish for cultivating some of the country's elite talent. In 2004, he committed to Boston University, the program that shaped his idol, Buffalo Sabres forward Chris Drury. This spring, he won gold at the World Under-18 Championships.
As exciting as the last two years have been, the defenseman from Waltham recalled a dark day in February as the most significant memory of his last two seasons.
On Feb. 25, when the Under-18 team was playing Rochester Institute of Technology, a teammate's skate sliced into the jugular vein of NTDP forward Chris Atkinson, nearly claiming his life.
At the time, Strait was learning nuts-and-bolts hockey stuff -- when to join the rush and become a fourth attacker, how to use his 6-foot, 205-pound frame to outmuscle opponents in the corners. But after hearing his coach cry as he delivered the news of Atkinson's condition, Strait had to learn an even more valuable skill, one that an NHL club might tap on Saturday: how to lead.

As BU's lead recruiter, David Quinn(MASTP staff since 1992, should work several sessions this summer, including a night with 1993 defensemen), himself an ex-Terrier defenseman and first-round NHL pick, has known about Strait's ability. In the past few weeks -- Strait has been working out at Agganis Arena with his future Terrier teammates -- Quinn has learned more about the 18-year-old's character.
``He's a guy that people like to be around," said the BU assistant. ``He's got a strong personality. What you see with him on the ice carries over in the locker room. He does things with authority. He's a player of high caliber, but he's got personality and presence in the locker room."
In the fall of 2004, after spending his freshman and sophomore years at Northfield Mount Hermon, Strait arrived in Ann Arbor, Mich., the NTDP's home base. Strait's class, unheralded at the time, arrived on the heels of a starry crop that included 2005 first-round picks Jack Johnson (Carolina) and Jack Skille (Chicago), plus Phil Kessel, the fifth-ranked North American skater in this year's draft.
But John Hynes(Started his coaching career in MASTP 1996, he is now a 3 time Gold Medal winning coach in international competition. Many of the drills and strategies he uses in the USNDTP were developed 1st in the MASTP), Strait's coach the last two years, spotted a steady if not flashy defenseman who was coachable and well-liked by his teammates.
``When he first got here, he was very talented and a hard worker," said Hynes. ``In his two years here, he hasn't lost that. He refined that. He plays the game with a lot of purpose now. He doesn't play just to play. He plays with a purpose in mind. Offensively, he's seeing things and making decisions. As a defender, he's reading different situations when he doesn't have the puck."
In 2004-05, when he played 63 games with the U-17 team and seven with the U-18s, Strait recorded 5 goals and 15 assists. But even before he skated a single NTDP shift, Strait knew he was going to BU. The previous summer, after his sophomore year at Northfield Mount Hermon, he committed to becoming a Terrier.
``Growing up in Waltham, he always wanted to come to BU, so it was a no-brainer to get him in the fold," said Quinn, who might be coaching two high-round picks in 2006-07 (incoming freshman Eric Gryba, a 6-3, 215-pound defenseman, is the 66th-ranked North American skater). ``I remember the first time watching him, that from a physical standpoint, he was so far more advanced than everybody his age. I liken him to a shutdown corner in football. Once he gets to people in the corners, that's it. He ends the play."
In 2005-06, an ankle injury kept him sidelined for much of the first half, but Strait ended up playing 47 games, collecting 2 goals and 11 assists. As captain for the second straight year, Strait served as the bridge between the team and the coaching staff. But he wanted to be friends with everyone. If he knew a teammate was struggling in school, he wasn't comfortable letting his coach know.
``He struggled with it a bit," Hynes said. ``The biggest lesson he learned was that he needs to be respected more than liked."
That process was starting. In late February, it was turbocharged.

A fallen friend
At first, Strait spotted a little blood on the ice near Atkinson's head.

It was the second period, and Atkinson, who had collided with teammate Trent Palm and an RIT player, had fallen to the ice. As Palm got up, his skate thrust into Atkinson's neck, cutting into his jugular vein. Atkinson clutched his throat with his gloves, discarding them moments later. Strait remembered seeing Atkinson's gloves -- they were soaked with blood.
As Atkinson was rushed off the ice to a local hospital, Strait and his teammates finished the match, then inquired about his condition.
``They said he was fine and he was flirting with the nurses," Strait recalled. ``I thought, `Yeah, that sounds like Chris.' "
Later, Strait heard a different story. A shaken Hynes, who visited Atkinson in the hospital, told the team that their friend's injury was so severe that he could have died in the locker room.
Atkinson's initial surgery was successful, but he suffered nerve damage in his left arm. He'd miss the rest of the year, and would be unable to play the 2006-07 season for Vermont, the school he committed to in the fall.
Strait took the news hard, but he rallied his teammates and kept them trained on winning gold in the U-18 Championships in Sweden. During the tournament, Strait got his teammates to wear an ``11," Atkinson's number, on their helmets.
Before the medal round, Strait instant-messaged his friend, who was recovering back home. Atkinson sent his best wishes, writing that he wouldn't be able to visit his teammates overseas.
But before the US team's second-to-last game against the Czech Republic, Atkinson surprised Strait and his teammates by appearing in Sweden. Inspired by their friend's arrival, they beat the Czechs, 4-3, to advance to the final. They then won the gold by defeating Finland, the first time the United States won back-to-back titles.
``He kept Chris connected with the team," said Hynes, ``and kept the team connected to Chris."
Last weekend, Strait visited Atkinson at his home near Albany. Atkinson, who will redshirt his first season at Vermont, recently underwent surgery again, as doctors removed a nerve from the top of his back and placed it in his left arm. ``He's going to have a heck of a scar -- but he's going to be OK," said Strait, a smile flashing across his face.

Future pro
The Central Scouting Service report highlights Strait's open-ice hitting, effortless lateral movement, hard and accurate point shot, and confident outlet passing -- required characteristics for defensemen in the new NHL.

``Playing D is much harder than it was four years ago," Quinn said. ``When the puck is dumped in the zone, you don't have time to make a play. The forwards are right on top of you. You're not holding people up anymore. Things are happening so fast.
``But the new NHL suits him. He skates well. He's strong. The joke in the locker room is that he's not 18 years old. He looks like he's 30, for crying out loud."
Strait, whom Hynes called a hybrid defenseman because of his down-low grit and up-tempo style, attended the NHL scouting combine in Toronto earlier this month, interviewing with a handful of teams. He planned to travel to Vancouver tomorrow, scheduling a haircut before his departure to improve his appearance for TV.
Then he'll return to Boston, where he will take second-semester summer classes at BU while preparing for his freshman season. Despite the leadership he has shown so far, Strait may never wear the captain's C at BU if he leaves early for pro hockey, a scenario he acknowledged might play out.
``The draft is only one piece of the puzzle," Strait said. ``I've still got to play well every year in college. I'll talk to whatever club that drafts me after the season and see what they say.
``You've got to be ready to go to the NHL, too. There's a time to leave college and move on to the higher level. But I'm going to BU next year. I'm happy to be playing there. It's a great organization that's done great things in the past.
``Last year they had a good season, and hopefully we'll have a good team this year. I think we will."

end of update - 6/21/2006

The Satellite Program and the USA Hockey Select Festival's are what young Massachusetts hockey players need to be a part of during the summer if they really want to improve into an elite player and not twenty summer tournaments or just playing shinny hockey everyday.