by Ryan Fay
Former Union men's hockey star Adam Presizniuk still remembers getting recruited to play for the Dutchmen like it was yesterday.
"Union recruited me while I was playing in the BCHL for the Powell River Kings," Presizniuk recalls. "I remember former Union assistant Bill Riga watched me play a few times. After he told me that they were interested, I received a call from former head coach Nate Leaman, who wanted me to fly down to visit. At the time of my fly down, I already knew one of the players who I had played with the year before in Powell River, Mike Wakita. I knew I was going to get straight answers from him whenever I had any questions.
"I knew after visiting that I wanted to go to Union. I really liked the trimester system as well as the campus. As far as the hockey, I felt like I had a good opportunity to play if I played well. I liked the coaching staff and the players that I had met on the team. It just felt right, and after my four years there, I know it was the right decision."
The Alberta native, who was also recruited by Quinnipiac, Providence, and RPI, was rewarded for picking Union as the program was on an upswing during his four years in Schenectady. The Dutchmen won 14 games the year before Presizniuk came but won 26 during his senior season, a year that also included the school's first Cleary Cup.
"To win the Cleary Cup on senior night in front of our family, friends, students, and fans was an amazing feeling," Presizniuk said.
But there were other memories, like the 2010 quarterfinals series win over Quinnipiac.
"We beat them in three games after losing the first one in 5 OT," Presizniuk remembers. "It was our first time advancing to the ECAC championship weekend and I will always remember celebrating that series win down by the student section. They were going nuts."
Presizniuk had a great run for Union, ending his four-year career as the program's Division I era points leader with 131 while being named Team MVP three times and alternate captain on two occasions.
"It’s an honor to be the Division I era leading scorer for the Dutchmen," says Presizniuk. "I was lucky to play with such great players as Mario Valery-Trabucco, Jason Walters, Jeremy Welsh and Kelly Zajac. With the program making strides the way it is, I'm sure it won't be long before someone moves ahead of me on the points list."
After a decorated Union career, Presizniuk moved up to the pro ranks. He spent the summer following his graduation (2011) in rookie camp with the Boston Bruins and then with their AHL affiliate in Providence.
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| Presizniuk (Trenton/ECHL) |
"My agent set up everything with the Boston Bruins organization from the Boston rookie camp to the Providence main camp," said Presizniuk. "The Bruins rookie camp was pretty cool since I got to play with some high draft picks and hang out with some of the current Boston Bruins. The Providence camp went well and I felt that I was playing better each day. Unfortunately, I didn't stick with the team but I think that I learned a lot from those experiences in Boston and Providence."
The forward wasn't out of work for long as he quickly signed a contract with Trenton of the ECHL, a league generally seen as one step below the AHL.
"After I got let go from Providence, the head coach there said he knew that Trenton needed a few players," Presizniuk said. "The assistant coach with Providence was the head coach of Trenton the year before so he still had some contacts with the coaching staff there. I thought it was a good spot because it was close to quite a few AHL clubs so it might be easier to get a call up."
That gamble proved to be a good one. After scoring 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in his first 15 games with Trenton, Presizniuk was back in the AHL with Providence via a loan.
"It was a good experience to play with Providence, especially since we played two road games in Hershey and Norfolk. They were fun arenas to play in," he recalled. "I thought I was playing well as did the coaching staff. I guess the toughest part is that when I got called up, I only played a few minutes a game on the fourth line, which makes it tough to show what you can do."
Those two road games were the extent of Presizniuk's stint in Providence as he was cut loose and spent the rest of the season back in Trenton, finishing seventh on the team in goals with 13 and third in assists with 27. That kind of play prompted Trenton to re-sign the Union product for the 2012-2013 season, but he was released before playing another game for them.
"Trenton received eight to ten forwards from the AHL affiliates after the NHL lockout continued on through training camp," said Presizniuk. "That forced their coaching staff to release some players. It was a numbers thing and they told me they wanted me to stay but couldn't release any of the AHL players. It was unfortunate because I knew once the lockout ended that they would be strapped for players -- and they were."
A few other ECHL teams subsequently expressed interest, but the now 26-year-old said the circumstances weren't right.
"I knew that all of the ECHL teams would have so many players [from the lockout] that it just didn't seem worth it to go somewhere else and sit in the stands," he said.
Instead, Presizniuk decided to move on from professional hockey.
"I am living back in Calgary and getting into the oil and gas industry, which is big in Alberta," he said. "I will also be playing on a summer hockey recreational team with former Union teammate Andrew Buote, who is also living here in Calgary."
As for the differences between college hockey and pro hockey, Presizniuk said there were a few.
"The ECHL was more of a different style of game," he said. "College is played at a higher tempo so you have to make decisions a little faster. The ECHL is a more controlled game where you don’t run around too much. There is a jump of skill from the ECAC to the AHL. Everyone has skill and can skate. It doesn't matter if you’re on the first line or fourth line."
