Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.When you're 6-foot-6 and wearing skates instead of high-tops, you're going to attract a little more attention.
Omaha Lancers forward Eli Lichtenwald understands that better than most. But it doesn't bother him that the taller he gets, interest opposing players have in taking a run at him increases.
"Being a bigger guy on the ice, everyone likes to put a target on your back," Lichtenwald said. "That's how it seemed to be the last few years."
When Lichtenwald was a student at St. Joseph High School in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, hockey wasn't his only sport. When he laced up his sneakers for basketball, Lichtenwald was only "the third or fourth biggest guy" on the roster.
So instead of being a post player, Lichtenwald was a 6-5 small forward for a team that always did well in the city playoffs and advanced to the second round of the provincial playoffs.
"Playing small forward, I had some outside ability but most of my strengths were inside," Lichtenwald said. "We had three guys who could play the post, so when I was outside I was usually matched up against someone who was 6-2 or 6-3. That was a benefit."
As a sophomore and junior, Lichtenwald was able to play hoops and continue skating for the Saskatoon Steel AA midget team. But his senior season, Lichtenwald only played basketball because the AAA midget team he hoped to play for, the Saskatoon Blazers, didn't want him on the hardwood.
When his senior season wrapped up, Lichtenwald passed on a scholarship offer to play college basketball because he wanted to see how far he could go with the sport he had been playing since age 5.
Lichtenwald, who began playing basketball when he was 10, said he hasn't picked up a basketball since his last game two years ago.
Last season, Lichtenwald skated for the Nipawin Hawks, a team in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League coached by former Lancer assistant Doug Johnson. It was Johnson who lined up Lichtenwald's chance to play in the USHL.
Lichtenwald almost passed on that offer.
"He got me a tryout but a couple of weeks before camp I wasn't going to come down," Lichtenwald said. "Now I'm really glad I did it. I was told this league was something special, that there's nothing like it, and that's been true."
The USHL is known as the top Junior A league in North America. Lichtenwald doesn't disagree.
"This is a more fast-paced and higher skill league," Lichtenwald said. "Back home it was more physical, so I'm used to more physical play. That part I wasn't too shocked about coming down here."
Lancer coach Mike Aikens said it's easy to see how Lichtenwald's time on a basketball court has made him a better hockey player.
"He's so athletic," Aikens said. "His feet are really good, he has really soft hands. We're only seeing a glimpse of what he will be able to do.
"In our game it takes big guys a little longer to develop. It's going to be fun to see what he will be able to do when he adds another 20, 30 or 40 pounds on his frame. He could play for a long time."
A long career has been Lichtenwald's goal since he started skating on the rink his father would make every year for all of his kids in the backyard. Aikens expects college coaches to come calling later this year as they watch Lichtenwald bounce back from a concussion he suffered in a Nov. 6 game at Chicago.
He didn't return to the Lancers lineup until Dec. 31. While he was disappointed to have missed that much time, Lichtenwald said things have been coming together nicely the past month.
"When you're out with a concussion you can't do much at all," Lichtenwald said. "It wasn't too fun. The first three or four games back I was a little hesitant, but now I don't even think twice about it.
"I haven't had any problems. I feel great."
Contact the writer:
402-618-4113, alexsdad@mail.com
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