University of Minnesota Athletics
Five Minutes with Kelly Pannek
1/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS - Junior center Kelly Pannek, the NCAA scoring leader with 49 points this season, discusses her skill development, growing up as a multi-sport athlete, and her Gopher linemates.
Gopher Sports: What is it like receiving extra media attention and awards following personal success this season?
Pannek: I think it doesn't really change anything, getting recognized for things. For me on the individual level, it's nice, but it's not the goal that we're after here. So, it's just kind of keeping that perspective that yeah, I've had success so far this year, but just trying to keep that going and then just building off of it and hopefully helping create team success in the end.
GS: Do you get more satisfaction from scoring a game winning goal or setting one up?
KP: Setting up probably. I don't know, it's just something that I like to do and I feel like that's my role on this team. It is to help set up people and distribute the puck. I like finding those little plays, but a win is a win, so you can never really complain when you're a part of it.
GS: Where did you get your vision for the ice? How did you develop that skill?
KP: I think a lot of it is just having the freedom to do it at a young age. I had a really great squirt coach who just really let us play and taught us the basics and stuff like that. But I think it also comes from playing soccer, playing other sports, but soccer mostly because soccer is all about finding lanes. I played center-mid most of my time, and I also played on both ends, forward and defense, so you kind of get different perspectives. Soccer is very much about finding lanes, finding your runs, finding the space rather than finding the player, necessarily. So I think I take a lot of that onto the ice and then it's just kind of applying it at a lot faster of a speed. I think that's where a lot of it comes from.
GS: How valuable was it for you to be a multi-sport athlete growing up?
KP: I think everyone on our team played other sports for most of their high school career, if not all the way through. Soccer, I think, is a really good one. I played lacrosse my senior year of high school, which that one was kind of a perfect blend of hockey and soccer. I know that Sydney Baldwin played tennis, and I think that's a great sport just for like your footwork and stuff like that. I think that translates directly to Syd as a defenseman. She's great with her feet, and keeping players in front of her with her footwork. So I honestly don't think there's a bad way to go with playing other sports. I just think that playing the most sports as you can at a young age just helps evolve a sense of athleticism. At the end of the day, most team sports, especially, have similar concepts of give-and-go passes and plays and moving to get open and creating space. I don't think that you can really go wrong with what sport, but I do think that the more sports you play, especially at a young age, like during your young developmental years, is really important.
GS: What's is been like playing without Dani Cameranesi while she's been out of the lineup due to injury?
KP: I think the hardest thing is just her leadership that we're missing, whether we're playing with each other or not. She's someone that even I look to to be a leader, on the ice and off the ice. I think that the hardest part is knowing how hard it is for her. She's such a competitive person and you know that she's going to do whatever she can to be on the ice and to be there every day, so, I think that's the hardest part is just knowing how hard it is for her, and then just hoping that she can get back and be better than she was before, and just keep improving because she has very high goals that she is very close to achieving. It's hard to see her going through that and not really being able to do anything except just support her and be there for her.
GS: What does Sarah Potomak bring to your line?
KP: Sarah and Dani both, they can play either side. It just so happened that Dani is on the right and Sarah's on the left so they kind of got into that rhythm. Putting Sarah on the right just makes it a little easier for Caitlin to jump up with us and makes it a little easier transition for her. But Sarah, I would say she just has a knack for hockey and knowing what's going to happen. If the puck's on her stick, she's going to find the back of the net no matter what it takes. She's just a great balance of having a playmaking ability and also picking her corners and, just very composed, you don't see her get frustrated very much outwardly. I appreciate that because I tend to get a little more hot-headed in the heat of the moment, so she is a good balance for that, too.
GS: How did you develop your dynamic puck control skills?
KP: I don't know, I think it comes from just working at it at a young age. That's kind of just like the basic stick-handling skills and getting comfortable with the puck. I think what I've taken as I get older is when you're younger, you can kind of get away with doing certain moves and being fancier. But when you get older you have to almost simplify it so I try to do that, not force dangles when they're not necessary. I think that's where the puck protection comes from, and it's more about using a move or using that ability to keep the puck rather than trying to beat someone. I think that's what allows you to do it. Also, just knowing before I get the puck where pressure is coming from so I can protect the puck in the right areas, and then move it off quickly.
Listen to Pannek's complete interview hosted by the voice of Gopher women's hockey, Dan Hamann.
Pannek's Favorites...
Favorite food: Ice cream
Favorite musician: Beyonce or Adele
Favorite color: Gray
Favorite movie: Bridesmaids
Favorite TV show: Friends or Gossip Girl
Favorite sport other than hockey: Soccer
Favorite practice drill: BC 2 Shot
Favorite class at the U: Literature of Public Life
Favorite spot on campus: Treehouse
Favorite book: Harry Potter 1-7
Favorite motivational quote: Pressure is privelege.
Favorite candy: Kit-Kat
Favorite restaurant: Kafe 421
Favorite animal: Giraffe
Favorite post-game meal: Tony's Diner
Favorite holiday: Thanksgiving
Role model: My sisters
Favorite thing to do in your spare time: Golf
Favorite thing about the Twin Cities: You can do anything within a 20-minute drive.
First job you had: Soccer coach
Biggest fear: Birds
Favorite super hero: My mom (Master General)
Who would play you in a movie: Kelsey Cline
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