Tech Tomorrow: Speedy winger Pedersen ready for the next step

By DAVER KARNOSKY – Daily Mining Gazette
dkarnosky@mininggazette.com

Editor's Note: This feature originally appeared in the August 19 edition of the Daily Mining Gazette.

AIRDRIE, Alberta – Growing up between two of the biggest rivals in the National Hockey League, incoming Michigan Tech Huskies hockey freshman Erik Pedersen found himself a fan of neither team, but he did find a love of hockey. This fall, he will bring that passion to Houghton as he looks to add some of the lessons he has learned to the Huskies' game.

Airdrie, which is located about 45 minutes north of Calgary, and has served as home to such players as former North Dakota star and San Jose Sharks' prospect Aaron Dell along with St. Louis Blues 2011 second-round draft pick Ty Rattie, is in an ideal location for a budding hockey player and Pedersen enjoyed the opportunity to be close to home as much as possible.

"It was good," said Pedersen. "We were close to Calgary, close to a lot of cities, and close to where I played hockey in the winter, so that was nice."

Unlike most American-born players, Pedersen had the opportunity to attend a prep school that focused on student athletes from a young age. Edge School, which is where Pedersen was from Grade 6 to 12, is similar to Shattuck-St. Mary's in Minnesota.

Edge School gave Pedersen a chance to focus on both hockey and school from a young age.

"You would go on the ice every day and you would also go to school," said Pedersen. "When I got older, I played on the teams there and I had all of my teammates in my classes. It was just a really good experience. [I had] a lot of ice time and it was really fun place to go to school."

In 2012-13, Pedersen left Edge to head north to Fort McMurray to play for the Oil Barons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. That was a tough season for him personally, as he to not only adjust to the speed of the junior game, but also learn how to take care of himself living far from home.

He enjoyed some modest success offensively, scoring six goals and 12 points in 48 games.

"I was really young and went far away from home," said Pedersen. "It was a good learning experience to mature and play hockey and be away from home.

"It was tough. I was the only one of my class to leave that year. All of my buddies stayed back and played another year of AAA. It was tough for the schooling as well. I was in public schooling, but none of the other guys were in school. I kind of had to figure everything out on my own. It was a good learning experience."

The following year, he moved closer to home, earning a spot on the Calgary Canucks of the AJHL, but was only for 10 games before being traded to the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

The move proved beneficial for him offensively as he went from just two assists in 10 games with Calgary to 10 goals and 30 points in 51 games with Flin Flon. His offensive success continued into the following year, where he scored six goals and 12 points in 13 games before finding himself back in the AJHL with the Whitecourt Wolverines.

Having had the opportunity to play in multiple leagues, he did notice a difference in styles of play between the two.

"It was a different style of hockey," said Pedersen. "I thought it was a lot more physical in Saskatchewan, a little more rough and tumble."

In 15 games with the Wolverines, Pedersen notched three goals and 10 points. Last season, he played in 47 games with the Wolverines and blossomed offensively with 18 goals and a team-high 50 assists for 68 points. He then picked up two goals and six points in seven playoff games.

"In the end, I decided that I did not want to play that style of hockey anymore," said Pedersen. "I got to come back to Alberta, where there is more skill."

Pedersen's efforts did not go unnoticed as he gained notoriety in November, when he notched seven goals and 21 points in 11 games, earning Player of the Month honors.

"It was really good to look back at the season and see that I helped the team that much," said Pedersen. "It just happened that my line needed to step up, and everything came together and we put pucks in the net."

Pedersen put his time off the ice researching Michigan Tech and found a match with the school in more than just a hockey program on the rise.

"I really like the coaching staff and the atmosphere," said Pedersen. "When I got on the computer and did some research, [I found that] they have amazing academics and it just became the school for me."

A speedy forward who has learned to see the ice well, the 5-foot-9 Pedersen enjoys being able to find his teammates whenever possible. While he cannot pinpoint a player that his game most resembles, he feels he has learned a lot from growing up just a few years younger than Rattie.

"I see him in the summer and I have learned quite a bit from him," said Pedersen. "It's nice. He has a lot of skills that he didn't know you can have."

While he may be a bit on the smaller side, Pedersen has developed the ability to see and think the game at a high level, which should help him make the transition the college game, where his speed can be a factor as the Huskies continue to move in that direction.