Hockey: Christianson eager to finish with Team Illinois
It's mostly a bunch of new players representing Illinois in the annual America's Showcase, a high school hockey tournament held in Pittsburgh April 20-24 to give players the chance to be scouted for higher-level play.
Team Illinois opens play against Missouri Blue, and certainly carries the weight - and bull's-eye - of past teams. Team Illinois has, after all, won the tournament three of the past four years, including 2016, when Illinois defeated Wisconsin 4-2 in the championship game.
"We have so much skill, top to bottom. I've never played on a team with this much all-around skill," said Nicholas Christianson, a senior at Buffalo Grove High School who skated all four years for the co-op BG/H/W Stampede varsity, including the team's 2016 state championship season. "I think our depth and puck possession game will help us be extremely successful in Pittsburgh, and we have a ton of speed."
Christianson, 18, who lives in Arlington Heights, will attend Iowa in the fall, where he plans to major in finance. The America's Showcase is his final, highly-competitive skate.
"It's such a privilege to share the ice with some of the best high school players and coaches in the state," Christianson said. "Being selected for the team has always been one of my goals and I'm really looking forward to playing in Pittsburgh.
"It's a great honor to represent Illinois. Since my sophomore year, this (event) has always been a goal of mine and to have the chance to play one last handful of competitive game for my high school career is amazing."
Christianson, a left-handed shooting forward, played youth hockey for the Northwest Chargers, then shined for BG/H/W. He was a two-time North Central League MVP, a three-time North Central All-Star and the 2016 All-Star MVP.
"Although we've only spent a couple weeks together, I feel our skills have all blended well together and I'm excited to start playing some games," he said.
The America's Showcase girls tournament runs April 21-23, and Team Illinois opens against Northern Plains, then battles Atlantic Red and Team Indiana in its next round-robin round games.
The boys also face New Jersey and Indiana to reach the playoff round.
"Nick is a great hockey talent with excellent hands and vision on the ice," said longtime BG/H/W coach Bob Wagner.
Christianson is a two-way player who had 14 goals, 19 assists in 17 regular-season league games this past season.
"I wouldn't say I model myself off any player in particular, but I love the way guys like (Jonathan) Toews and (Marian) Hossa play. They're always putting up numbers and then getting back and playing great defensively as well," Christianson said. "I'm all about having fun, but once we step on the ice, it's all about winning and anything less than that, I pretty much see as a failure."
The Showcase team also features Gary Barbera (Barrington); William Golden, Matt Ernsting Nicholas Feldman and Liam O'Reilly (Benet); and Andrew Maynard (Naperville Central), among others.