University of Minnesota Athletics
Great Expectations: Junior Forward Barry Tallackson
3/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Barry Tallackson came to the University of Minnesota with high expectations from coaches, fans and himself. As he entered Minnesota as a member of the 2001 freshman class, he was one of the most talked about recruits and was expected to be a major contributor to the Golden Gopher offense. Prior to Minnesota, Tallackson played two seasons with the U.S. National Development Team program in Ann Arbor, Mich. During his second season with the program, he finished second in scoring on the Under-18 team with 23 goals and 24 assists to total 47 points in 63 games. He also had played on the U.S. Junior Under-18 and Under-17 World Championship Teams. Looking at his numbers and experience, it was only natural to expect Tallackson to make on impact on Golden Gopher hockey.
"My main goal was to come into the program, score some goals, do a little offense my first year," he said. "We had people like [Jeff] Taffe and [John] Pohl that did all the scoring my freshman year, but I just wanted to contribute the best I could."
Tallackson began his Maroon and Gold career trying to fulfill the coaches' and his own expectations. He was the only freshman to play in all 44 games, and finished tied for third in WCHA freshman scoring with 13-10-23. That summer, he was drafted in the second round by the New Jersey Devils as the 53rd pick of the NHL Entry Draft. The outlook for Tallackson was growing with expectations and hockey potential.
With the departure of the majority of the Gophers' offensive power in Pohl, Taffe, and others after the 2001-02 season, Tallackson entered his sophomore year looking to increase his numbers and become one of the team's top scoring threats. "Expectations for sophomore year, like I said, like everybody said, I wanted to fill Jeff Taffe's shoes and I wanted to score all these goals and produce all this offense," Tallackson remarked.
What he wanted and how the season actually played out could not have been more different. Tallackson began the year totaling three assists in his first 17 games played. During that period, he also missed nine contests due to a shoulder injury. Fans, people involved with the Gopher program, and sometimes even Tallackson himself started questioning his ability and his drive. "Potential" was a word that circled around Tallackson until it made him dizzy. Is he going to live up to it? When will he reach it? Did he ever have as much as people had always said?
"You get a little criticism from the coaches, but it's not as much as, I mean I've been getting criticized pretty much ever since I reached high school. People saying, `This kid's got so much potential. He doesn't know what he's doing with it.' All that stuff," Tallackson admitted. "But I try to block that out and listen to what the coaches have to say. They know best, and when they say that I'm not playing up to what my abilities are, then I believe them. Then I try to do what they tell me to do and try to go out and work as hard as I can everyday."
While Tallackson called the beginning of the 2002-03 season "depressing", he didn't let his lack of offense and the increasing criticism hold him down. After meeting with coaches and watching tapes of himself in games, he was able to adjust his play on the ice and build his offensive production. In the final 15 contests of the season, he tallied 21 points, and snapped his 23-game goalless streak with nine lamplighters. He had three two-goal games and seven multi-point games as the team went 12-1-2 and won the WCHA Tournament and their second consecutive NCAA Championship. In that championship game against New Hampshire, Tallackson notched two of the team's five goals, and was a crossbar short of a hat trick.
After hitting such lows earlier in the season, Tallackson was thrilled with the way he completed his sophomore year on a high note. He could feel the momentum shift in his support as he was again looking forward to starting another hockey season.
"I had a little meeting with coach and he talked about how my game was progressing at the end of the year," Tallackson said. "I told him that I was on a high note and I was going to continue that next year. And it looked like it was because I was the first guy to score on the team and I thought this was going to be a great year. And once again, I had the ups and downs like a roller coaster. It didn't start out like I wanted it to."
For the second year in a row, things for Tallackson on the ice just didn't go as expected. But while his junior season has also seen him play somewhat inconsistently, he addresses some of his scoring problems differently from just a year ago. Tallackson has remained in the lineup through all 32 games thus far and has more steadily collected his 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) over the season.
"I'd probably say last year in that drought that I started second-guessing myself. But I'm having droughts now and I'm working through it," he commented. "I'm not second-guessing myself because I know I'll get through it and I will produce offense at some time. It's just going out there, going hard at the net and eventually it's going to go in like it did last year in the playoffs."
The focus on Tallackson's game has always been about offensive numbers, but he has also worked on building his role as a defensive presence as well, even securing himself a place on the penalty kill. While Tallackson is known as shy and quiet off the ice, he uses his time on it to take out a little aggression deal with the heat dealt out by others by "banging some bodies around." He also leans on his family for support when the criticisms and questions of his play start getting a little too harsh.
The spotlight still shines of Barry Tallackson and his potential, but after being burned by it, he now understands how to protect himself and deal with it.
"I've learned a lot because you're playing under the hockey spotlight in Minnesota. Everybody's watching you. All the little kids want to be you. Just from the media, I can now cope with all the hype and all the spotlight and stuff like that. I think from the NCAA Championship games, that kind of prepared me for the future because now I know how to deal with all the media from that press talk, and I know how to cope with all the little kids, I know how to cope with the huge spotlight that we have on ourselves here at Minnesota."
And next year, as Tallackson enters his final season for the Golden Gophers, don't tell him about his potential, ability, talent or expectations. He is already aware and is no longer listening. "I'm just going to clear everything. Come in and have a fresh start. Work hard in the off-season and just don't put any pressure on myself. Try not to listen to anybody. Just come in here and try to have the season that I want."
Written by Media Relations Student Assistant Courtney Walerius. She welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu.
Don't tell Barry Tallackson about how many goals he was supposed to score during any of his three collegiate seasons. Don't tell him about how excited Minnesota fans were that they were getting one of the top incoming freshmen of 2001. Don't tell him the different areas of his game he needs to either pick up or work on improving. Don't tell him because Tallackson is already fully aware. The word "potential" has become an annoyance to him.
Barry Tallackson came to the University of Minnesota with high expectations from coaches, fans and himself. As he entered Minnesota as a member of the 2001 freshman class, he was one of the most talked about recruits and was expected to be a major contributor to the Golden Gopher offense. Prior to Minnesota, Tallackson played two seasons with the U.S. National Development Team program in Ann Arbor, Mich. During his second season with the program, he finished second in scoring on the Under-18 team with 23 goals and 24 assists to total 47 points in 63 games. He also had played on the U.S. Junior Under-18 and Under-17 World Championship Teams. Looking at his numbers and experience, it was only natural to expect Tallackson to make on impact on Golden Gopher hockey.
"My main goal was to come into the program, score some goals, do a little offense my first year," he said. "We had people like [Jeff] Taffe and [John] Pohl that did all the scoring my freshman year, but I just wanted to contribute the best I could."
Tallackson began his Maroon and Gold career trying to fulfill the coaches' and his own expectations. He was the only freshman to play in all 44 games, and finished tied for third in WCHA freshman scoring with 13-10-23. That summer, he was drafted in the second round by the New Jersey Devils as the 53rd pick of the NHL Entry Draft. The outlook for Tallackson was growing with expectations and hockey potential.
With the departure of the majority of the Gophers' offensive power in Pohl, Taffe, and others after the 2001-02 season, Tallackson entered his sophomore year looking to increase his numbers and become one of the team's top scoring threats. "Expectations for sophomore year, like I said, like everybody said, I wanted to fill Jeff Taffe's shoes and I wanted to score all these goals and produce all this offense," Tallackson remarked.
What he wanted and how the season actually played out could not have been more different. Tallackson began the year totaling three assists in his first 17 games played. During that period, he also missed nine contests due to a shoulder injury. Fans, people involved with the Gopher program, and sometimes even Tallackson himself started questioning his ability and his drive. "Potential" was a word that circled around Tallackson until it made him dizzy. Is he going to live up to it? When will he reach it? Did he ever have as much as people had always said?
"You get a little criticism from the coaches, but it's not as much as, I mean I've been getting criticized pretty much ever since I reached high school. People saying, `This kid's got so much potential. He doesn't know what he's doing with it.' All that stuff," Tallackson admitted. "But I try to block that out and listen to what the coaches have to say. They know best, and when they say that I'm not playing up to what my abilities are, then I believe them. Then I try to do what they tell me to do and try to go out and work as hard as I can everyday."
While Tallackson called the beginning of the 2002-03 season "depressing", he didn't let his lack of offense and the increasing criticism hold him down. After meeting with coaches and watching tapes of himself in games, he was able to adjust his play on the ice and build his offensive production. In the final 15 contests of the season, he tallied 21 points, and snapped his 23-game goalless streak with nine lamplighters. He had three two-goal games and seven multi-point games as the team went 12-1-2 and won the WCHA Tournament and their second consecutive NCAA Championship. In that championship game against New Hampshire, Tallackson notched two of the team's five goals, and was a crossbar short of a hat trick.
After hitting such lows earlier in the season, Tallackson was thrilled with the way he completed his sophomore year on a high note. He could feel the momentum shift in his support as he was again looking forward to starting another hockey season.
"I had a little meeting with coach and he talked about how my game was progressing at the end of the year," Tallackson said. "I told him that I was on a high note and I was going to continue that next year. And it looked like it was because I was the first guy to score on the team and I thought this was going to be a great year. And once again, I had the ups and downs like a roller coaster. It didn't start out like I wanted it to."
For the second year in a row, things for Tallackson on the ice just didn't go as expected. But while his junior season has also seen him play somewhat inconsistently, he addresses some of his scoring problems differently from just a year ago. Tallackson has remained in the lineup through all 32 games thus far and has more steadily collected his 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) over the season.
"I'd probably say last year in that drought that I started second-guessing myself. But I'm having droughts now and I'm working through it," he commented. "I'm not second-guessing myself because I know I'll get through it and I will produce offense at some time. It's just going out there, going hard at the net and eventually it's going to go in like it did last year in the playoffs."
The focus on Tallackson's game has always been about offensive numbers, but he has also worked on building his role as a defensive presence as well, even securing himself a place on the penalty kill. While Tallackson is known as shy and quiet off the ice, he uses his time on it to take out a little aggression deal with the heat dealt out by others by "banging some bodies around." He also leans on his family for support when the criticisms and questions of his play start getting a little too harsh.
The spotlight still shines of Barry Tallackson and his potential, but after being burned by it, he now understands how to protect himself and deal with it.
"I've learned a lot because you're playing under the hockey spotlight in Minnesota. Everybody's watching you. All the little kids want to be you. Just from the media, I can now cope with all the hype and all the spotlight and stuff like that. I think from the NCAA Championship games, that kind of prepared me for the future because now I know how to deal with all the media from that press talk, and I know how to cope with all the little kids, I know how to cope with the huge spotlight that we have on ourselves here at Minnesota."
And next year, as Tallackson enters his final season for the Golden Gophers, don't tell him about his potential, ability, talent or expectations. He is already aware and is no longer listening. "I'm just going to clear everything. Come in and have a fresh start. Work hard in the off-season and just don't put any pressure on myself. Try not to listen to anybody. Just come in here and try to have the season that I want."
Written by Media Relations Student Assistant Courtney Walerius. She welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu.
