Maple Leafs Prospect Nick Abruzzese: If You’re Small, You Better Be Smart

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a great young prospect in Nick Robertson. Robertson has advanced far enough that he was asked to join the Maple Leafs roster as a Black Ace after his season with the Peterborough Petes was finished. However, Robertson is not the only Maple Leafs prospect who’s making great headway and looks like he’ll become a solid player within the organization.

Who’s the Other Nick?

Playing for the Harvard Crimson is another prospect named Nick, who shares many attributes with the prolific Robertson – including his first name. But this Nick’s last name is Abruzzese; and, although he’s still a few years away from having a crack of playing with the Maple Leafs, it looks as if he’s headed in the right direction.

As well, the two youngsters share similar physical characteristics. Not the least of which (no pun intended) is size. Abruzzese stands in at 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds; Robertson is listed at 5-foot-9 and 164 pounds. Neither is huge as far as hockey players go. But, boy do they have skills.

Related: Former Syracuse Orange Captain Lindsay Eastwood Signs with the Toronto Six

Abruzzese’s Greatest “Skill” Is His Brain

Greg Moore, who was Abruzzese’s coach with the USHL’s Chicago Steel and is now the Toronto Marlies’ coach, believes the key to the youngster’s success is simple.

“Nick has a lot of tools, but what separates him from everyone else is his brain,” Moore suggests. (from Mind over matter: The gift that defines Maple Leafs prospect Nick Abruzzese, Joshua Kloke, The Athletic, 25/05/20)

Recently, the 21-year-old Abruzzese was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) rookie of the year after scoring 44 points (14 goals and 30 assists) in 31 games. His points-per-game average of 1.42 tied for the second-highest in the NCAA. Still, those who know him best and list all his skills say that it’s his brain that stands out.

Jim Tortorella, brother of Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella and Harvard assistant coach, wondered, “I’m not sure his brain shuts down at night. He’s always thinking.”

The Self-Creation of Analytic Systems

If Abruzzese one day makes the Maple Leafs roster, he’ll do it because he works hard and because he has what coaches describe as a “world-class” brain. Abruzzese really wanted to do well in hockey and he knew that his small size could be a problem unless he worked harder than other players. So he did: he became a self-taught analytical expert because he had to.

The Athletic cited former Boston Bruins scout and now Chicago Steel general manager Ryan Hardy as recalling Abruzzese as a bantam player in New Jersey. Hardy remembers that Abruzzese was “So small … like, 5-foot-2.”

Because Abruzzese knew he could never outmuscle opponents, he created a process that helped him see the game more quickly than other players saw it. He studied his own film and created a number of questions to help him analyze what he saw. For example: What did I see on the ice? When watching a second time, what did I see that was new? Did I miss anything I should have seen?

He’d then double-check with his coaches to see if he’d missed anything. Before long, Abruzzese began to collect and organize the information he’d learned. He believed that “Getting all those ideas together was a way that I’ve been able to continue to grow my hockey sense and be able to get a multitude of different angles and approaches.”

Related: Three Reasons the Toronto Maple Leafs Will Beat the Columbus Blue Jackets

General Manager Kyle Dubas Has Done It Again

Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas’ plan seems to be working again – just like it did with Robertson. Dubas tries to find and draft young hockey players who are smart, driven, determined, and come with a penchant for hard work. In addition, these young men should also have great character. Dubas believes these are the kinds of players that are often ignored by other teams because they’re “too small” physically.

Nick Robertson is one of those players. He had an incredible season with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes (with 55 goals and 31 assists in 46 games). Perhaps even better, he was named the CHL’s Sportsman of the Year. That same philosophy seems to also be working for Nick Abruzzese as well.

Is There a Future After Harvard?

Right now, Abruzzese is determined to complete his four-year degree at Harvard, which is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Smart young man.

Abruzzese understands there’s life past hockey and isn’t missing a chance at a world-class Harvard education. As he says, he’s “focusing now on going back and having a really good strong second year at Harvard and see where I can go from there.”

He’s a special player. He had the best freshman season at Harvard since Ted Donato took over as coach in 2004. He led NCAA rookies in scoring, scored 18 power-play points (six goals and 12 assists), was part of the NCAA’s No. 1 power play, was named to first-team all-ECAC Hockey and all-rookie team, and had 14 multiple-point games – the most on his Crimson team.

Abruzzese has a goal, “If I can continue to get better every day and make strides in my game, one day I hope I will be able to play for the Leafs. It’s what I am working toward.”

I’m thinking he’s smart enough to reach this one.