Gustav Nyquist. Definitely not from Maine with a name like that.
This 21-year-old finance major hails from Malmo, Sweden and just happens to be one of the University of Maine men’s ice hockey team’s best assets. Nyquist first picked up a stick at age three and was quickly hooked to the hockey lifestyle. As a child Nyquist played a variety of sports: tennis, soccer, hockey and golf but quit tennis and soccer at age 15 to pursue hockey more seriously. While hockey is one of Sweden’s top five sports, soccer reigns at number one, not unlike the majority of other European countries, “Everyone plays soccer, hockey is still a big sport but pretty expensive as a kid,” Nyquist commented.
Nyquist, an assistant captain for the Black Bears, began looking at colleges when he was 17 or 18, since in Sweden you cannot both attend school and play sports simultaneously, “In Sweden you have to choose, there’s no such thing as college hockey,” he said. Nyquist has always known the importance of a higher education, “I’ve always thought that it’s important to have an education to fall back on. I loved Maine when I visited and felt comfortable with the coaches. I thought Maine was a great fit for me,” Nyquist said when asked about his decision on choosing UMaine. Now in his third year here as a Black Bear, Nyquist feels he made the right choice, “My last three years here have been great, best decision to come here. Everyone helped me with the transition so it wasn’t hard.”
While many of us can’t imagine transferring to not only a different country but acclimating into a different culture and lifestyle, Nyquist smoothly eased into the role without any trouble, “I haven’t had any problems with the language because we started learning English in third grade.”
While the last three years have certainly gone by quickly, Nyquist has had countless memorable experiences here at the University of Maine, “One of my best experiences was our run in the Hockey East playoffs last year when we lost to BC in the championship game down at the TD Garden. It was a tough loss but an unbelievable experience.” When asked about any regrets or things he might have missed out on Nyquist responded with a confident, “No regrets at all.”
Drafted in 2008 by the Detroit Red Wings, which means that basically the team owns his rights so that no other teams can sign him, Nyquist has a strong and promising future ahead of him. In the next five years Nyquist hopes to be playing professional hockey commenting, “That’s always been my biggest dream.”
Nyquist has a long list of career highlights including: 2010 Hobey Baker Hat Trick, 2010 First Team RBK Hockey / AHCA Men’s Division I All-American, 2010 All-College Hockey News First Team, 2010 CollegeHockey247.com All-American, 2010 Inside College Hockey All-America First Team, Runner-Up for 2010 Hockey East Player of the Year, 2010 Hockey East All-Tournament Team, ESPN The Magazine / COSIDA District I Academic All-District Second Team.
Most recently, Nyquist was named as one of ten national finalists for the 2011 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as well as being one of three student-athletes named to the Hobey Baker Hat Trick in 2010. In addition, Nyquist was also honored, being named to the Hockey East First Team for the second year in a row. He led Maine in scoring this season with 18 goals and 33 assists for a total of 51 points. Nyquist has had an array of accomplishments on the ice including setting a school record on February 12 when he scored a goal just six seconds into the game in Maine’s win over Vermont; he also broke the Maine record for quickest goal to start a game. Nyquist currently ranks tied for seventh in the nation in scoring and impressively scored at least one point in 30 of Maine’s 36 games this season. He recorded his first career hat trick, meaning three goals in one game, this season in Maine’s game at school rival, UNH.
The summers are a chance for Nyquist, who doesn’t usually get to go home at all during the academic year, to relax and spend time with his family and friends in Sweden, “I’ll go back this summer and work out, see family and friends and play some golf,” he said.
With the immense amount of time and energy put into being not only an academic student but a full-time Division I athlete, balancing everything can be quite a struggle but Nyquist seems to have a handle on it, “The hardest thing with being a student-athlete is the lack of time you have for studying. When you come home from practice it’s pretty late and you’re tired, you have to cook dinner and then after that it gets pretty late so you have to learn to be disciplined,” he said.
The comradely of the Black Bears and his competitive nature is something that Nyquist enjoys most about his time on the team, “What I love most about hockey is probably the fast that it’s a team sport and you have fun with your teammates and I also love to compete.”
Always up for a challenge and finding his inner entrepreneurial spirit, Nyquist looks to the future for, “A good hockey career and then after that maybe start a company of some kind that would be a fun challenge.” And there’s no doubt that this legendary Black Bear will be leaving a lasting impression both on the ice and off.
Photo Credit: Melissa Wade