State native Karashik leading UConn hockey into unknown season
Each time UConn men’s hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh sees the ‘C’ on Adam Karashik’s jersey in what promises to be one of the most surreal hockey seasons ever, he will forever be reminded of a conversation he had with legendary Avon Old Farms coach John Gardner a couple of years before Karashik would play his first game as a Husky.
“He’s everything you want in a UConn Husky hockey player,” Cavanaugh said on a Thursday afternoon video conference call to preview the seasonopening series against UMass. “He is an excellent student, he competes and shows up every single day, he lives his life on the ice the same way he lives his way off the ice. He does things the right way and it was a really easy choice, our players elect a captain and he was a pretty overwhelming choice that Adam was going to be that type of player. It doesn’t surprise me because when he was playing at Avon Old Farms and I’d speak to John Gardner down there, he’d say the same thing, some day this kid will be a captain of the team and he was 100 percent right.”
Being captain is never an easy task but doing so in a year where COVID-19 has already started to wreak havoc on practices and schedules definitely raises the degree of difficulty.
“We are going to face
some adversity, but it is how we overcome that adversity, how we adapt and change,” said Karashik, a senior defenseman from Ridgefield. “There are going to be curveballs the entire season, but whoever handles those curveballs the best and stays together is going to be the most successful team. I think we have handled those bumps in the road really well and we have to continue to do that. Whoever we might be playing might change but we will be ready to go no matter what and handle all the challenges coming our way.”
Karashik believes the lessons from Derek Pratt, Miles Gendron, Wyatt Newpower and Ben Freeman in their stints as UConn captains will suit him well in his leadership role. He got a taste of that a season ago when he was one of the alternate captains. He is also just the second UConn men’s hockey captain from Connecticut since the 200001 season, joining 2015-16 captain Patrick Kirkland
“They carry themselves a certain way, they represent what we want a UConn player to represent and it is important that I illustrate that in the classroom, on the ice with my character and hold myself a certain way, hold myself and all my teammates accountable,” Karashik said. “That is what led to a lot of success at UConn, is holding everybody accountable so I’m making sure I put in the right work ethic and I demand that from each player because I am not going to ask them to do something I wouldn’t do myself.”
UConn was supposed to open against Vermont, while UMass was set to play Maine, but when Vermont and Maine had to pull out, the move was made for UConn and UMass to play a home and home. The Huskies open on Friday at UMass at 6 p.m., with the teams meeting on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Freitas Ice Forum.
“They always say you have to be flexible in marriage but dealing with this pandemic and a hockey team makes marriage look like a walk in the park,” Cavanaugh said. “It really has been something but we are really excited. Right now we are healthy and ready to play hockey.”