Brody Green, forward for the Steinbach Pistons received exciting news and got to share it with his teammates, and the community this past weekend.
“The announcement is I’ve been committed to the University of Northern Michigan. It’s pretty exciting news. So, pretty excited and happy about it.”
The 16-year-old from Winnipeg shares how he landed on committing to Northern Michigan.
“The process has also been a little bit long because I talked to the head coach at Northern Michigan, Dave Shyiak, while he was at St. Cloud last year. So, it's been kind of a long process but as he went to a new team, taking on a bigger role, he's had more freedom and made the offer. Pretty excited about it and took it and went with it.”
Green says that the help from Shyiak means a lot.
“He's definitely putting a lot in me, and it shows he likes being with me and sees potential in me. So, it's good to see that value with him. I appreciate all he's done for me.”
It’s rare for a player Green’s age to commit. This was a huge decision with many factors and moving parts.
“My mom and dad were kind of on me. They wanted to make sure it's somewhere where I wanted to be in play because it's going to be 4 years of my life and I don't want to waste it, so they wanted me to be 100% certain it's where I wanted to go. We all came to talk about it, and we all agree that it's the perfect place for me to go to.”
He says the future of the team was a big part of why he chose Northern Michigan.
“They have the youngest team in college hockey this year, so it's going to be a powerhouse team in four years when I play there, so that's a big factor. And the facilities there, the rooms are top-notch, and the arena is super nice. So it's really good, a lot to talk about there.”
Green explains that making this decision early on will allow him to focus on school and Pistons hockey.
“It's always kind of in the back of everyone's head just where they're going to play next. And now I’m a bit relieved about it. It's going to be nice just focusing on the task at hand and just keep pushing forward.”
He adds, “It's been a little overwhelming at times, but just trying to stay on top of everything, getting it all done, like schoolwork, getting ahead and caught up just so I can focus more on hockey when I need to, and it's not having too many things on my mind.”
He shares that he reached out to Noah Szabo, Pistons captain after getting the news.
“First one I told the Szabs, he's the leader in the room and he's very grateful and he just supports me and everything. He talked to me about it, if it’s the right decision. I was like, ‘Yeah!’ He wanted to make sure I was happy with it. So, it was a good talk with him about it.”
The commitment to Northern Michigan sets Green up for continuing his hockey career but also gives him the opportunity to start planning his post-secondary education.
“I talked to the educational advisor Louis Cote about just courses to set me up for college later on, and he gave me a good course outline. So, I'm probably going to go into something like engineering.”
As a number of his teammates prepare to commit, Green’s advice is to try and stay grounded.
“I know everyone's thinking about it, it's in the back of everyone's head. Just try to look past it almost. And if you are going to have the opportunity and options to commit and just make sure it's you're 100% certain with it and make sure it's the right option and fit for you.”
The next time the Steinbach Pistons release a lineup, his name will have the Northern Michigan logo next to it.
“It's going to be a little different,” Green says. “I mean, you look at a lot of rosters of teams and you see people with the logo beside, it’s pretty cool. Would definitely be another cool experience for me, so, I'm excited about it.”
The exciting news will hype up Green for his game on Saturday against the Niverville Nighthawks.
Cheer on Green and the Pistons at the HyLife Centre at 7 pm.
With files from Dave Anthony