University of Minnesota Athletics
Freshman Faceoff: Tommy Novak
9/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
As we get closer and closer to the 2015-16 Gopher Hockey season, we continue our "Freshman Faceoff" series today with incoming forward Tommy Novak.
A native of River Falls, Wis., Novak spent last season in the USHL with the Waterloo Black Hawks where he was an All-Rookie Second Team honoree. The forward led his squad with 34 assists and ranked second on the team with 48 points over the 2014-15 season. Prior to that, Novak skated for St. Thomas Academy and helped the team to MSHSL Class A state titles in 2012 and 2013. He led the team in scoring his final two seasons and matched a school single-season points record with 70 points in 2013-14 (his 44 assists that year were also a program record). On the international level, Novak has won gold with USA Hockey at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge (led the U.S. in scoring and tallied the overtime winner in the gold-medal game) and the 2014 Five Nations Tournament while leading all skaters in scoring in a bronze-medal effort at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Tournament.
Novak was selected in the third round (85th overall) by the Nashville Predators in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
You're just the fourth Wisconsin native to play for the University of Minnesota although you're pretty much a local product. What made you decide to play for the Gophers?
You know, growing up, this was one of the teams that I idolized, and I always wanted to play here. This is a dream, and it's an exciting opportunity to be a part of such a great tradition. It's obviously a great program - one of the best in the country for sure.
You were selected by the Nashville Predators in this year's NHL Entry Draft. What was that experience like?
It was a cool experience for me and for my family. I got to share it with them and having an experience like that, it was definitely a fun time.
Talk about playing at St. Thomas Academy as a prep and learning from Gophers alum Tom Vannelli. How much did he help your development as a player?
He was awesome. I was lucky to play with some great players right out of the gate my freshman year. I might have been a little out of my league, but he gave me so many great opportunities. I give a lot of credit to him for my development and how I have progressed out of high school.
Any while you were there, you matched a single-season school record for points in 2013-14…
I think it was actually broken last year. (Editor's Note: It was.)
You've also had a lot of experience with USA Hockey including the 2014 World Junior A Challenge where you scored the overtime winner in the championship game. How much fun was that?
Yeah, that was amazing. We were in a tight game, down late, and we ended up tying it. I was lucky enough to be on the power play in overtime and got the game winner. Any time we get to play for USA hockey it's a lot of fun, and there is a lot of pride that goes into it.
This will be the second time in the last couple years that Waterloo linemates join the Gophers (Justin Kloos and Taylor Cammarata). Are you excited to be reunited with Tyler Sheehy this season?
Absolutely, he's a great guy and he's fun to play with. It will be great to get back on the ice with him. He's someone that I am familiar with and we compliment each other very well on the ice.
Do you have any interesting stories about learning to skate or play hockey?
I used to live in Cottage Grove and we had a rink in our backyard where I learned to skate. Then when we moved to River Falls, I kind of followed my older brother into hockey. I learned to play, and I have loved the game ever since.
Outside of hockey, what do you like to do?
A: I like to hang out with my friends, video games, Frisbee golf, basketball…I'm not the greatest at that, but it's actually something I like to do a lot.
You've been on campus for a while now, how has that adjustment been?
It's been really fun to be back in school. It has been a little bit of an adjustment from what I am used to because I took a break from school in Waterloo. But it is great to get back into it and be a student.
| Previous Freshman Faceoff Features | |||
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| Ryan Norman | |||
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| Brent Gates Jr. | Jack Ramsey | ||
