QA with Nick Ebert - Part I

Nick Ebert was on the hockey map prior to 2009-10, but he's exploded onto the scene as a 15-year-old playing in the United States Hockey League. The young blueliner has shown the potential to be an early first-round pick for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, potentially one of the best American defensemen of his generation, and quite possibly one of the best American defensemen of all time with continued steady development and a little luck. He also appears to be the player that could move the USHL up one more notch, by being drafted directly out of the USHL in the draft and then skate with an NHL team the next October, if he doesn't decide to skate in the Ontario Hockey League in his draft year. That possibility is over two and a half years away, but it's certainly not a stretch for the a young defenseman like Ebert who's already 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, who has exceptional skating skills, advanced poise with the puck, strong stick skills, and the desire and determination to be the best, and two and a half years to get even better.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to talk to Nick Ebert for nearly 30 minutes in a sit-down interview in early November, as part of a feature article on Ebert. Part I of a three-part interview discusses the ankle injury he suffered even earlier in November, getting "discovered" at the Liberty Bell Games, being a 15-year-old in the USHL, the strengths of his game, and some of his Waterloo teammates that impress him.

McKeen's: I hadn't anticipated this being my first question to you when I first arranged this interview, but unfortunately you're injured and out of the lineup. So, what happened and how long are you expecting to be out?

Ebert: Oh, about Wednesday, we were doing a one-on-one drill, and I had my ankle fallen on. So, I should probably be out for a week or so after this.

McKeen's: Sprain? Compression injury?

Ebert: Upper ankle sprain. It's mild, though, so that's pretty good.

McKeen's: I hope so. I played juniors back in the late 1990s and I had the high ankle sprain and it was on and off for a year and a half and I kept re-injuring it.

Ebert: You have to make sure the bone doesn't keep separating.

McKeen's: No. You're absolutely right, and that's where I'd feel the injury, right in between here (points between the lower fibula and lower tibia). As a 1994 birthdate, you were too young to be drafted by a USHL team, or an OHL team for that matter, but here you are with the Waterloo Black Hawks. I understand they saw you at the Liberty Bell Games in Philadelphia.

Ebert: Yes.

McKeen's: Was that the first time they'd seen you play? And tell me how it was you came to play for the Black Hawks.

Ebert: I was down in a showcase in Philadelphia, called the Liberty Bell Game, run by Lew Mongelluzzo, he's a scout for the Ottawa Senators. He invited me down for the tournament. He said there was going to be a bunch of scouts. So, I went down, not really expecting Waterloo or any teams there to come up and talk to me. I went down there and coach Derrick Johnson was there, and he talked to me. I didn't really take it serious, I didn't really think that I'd be offered a spot on the team. So, they invited me to the camp. I wasn't really sure if I was even going to the tryout camp, but I wound up coming to the camp after the U15 Festivals, up in Rochester, and I'm really happy I did, because they offered me a spot and now I'm here. I'm having a lot of fun out here.

McKeen's: Definitely good to go from having to pay to play…

Ebert: Oh yeah.

McKeen's: … to not having to pay.

Ebert: Everything here, you get it for free. It's a pretty good deal, I'll tell you that.

McKeen's: I found the list of scouts for the Liberty Bell Games, and it looks like Cedar Rapids had Jeff Barratt there, but it didn't look like any other USHL teams were there. Did any other USHL teams approach you, and where were you slated to play if you hadn't come to Waterloo?

Ebert: Well, if I wasn't going to come play in Waterloo, I was either going to just play for the Avalanche U16 team (pauses), that was pretty much my only other option. I was just going to stay in Jersey for another year and go from there.

McKeen's: Not a lot of guys make the jump from midget minor to the USHL, and even fewer of them could have been playing bantam major the previous year, in terms of age. So, what have been the biggest adjustments for you coming into the USHL coming out of midget minor? What are your impressions of the league?

Ebert: Definitely felt it in the first game. I was, "Wow, these kids are really good. These kids are just buzzing around." But, I think the coaching staff here really prepared me for the season. I think I worked pretty hard in the off-season. I got a little bigger, a little faster. I still need to get a little bigger, but the coaching staff definitely really prepared me for the season, and some of the veterans have really helped me, too.

McKeen's: That goes well into my next question. What's it like being a 15-year-old on a team where everyone else except for Brady Vail has a driver's license?

Ebert: Yeah (grins). It's pretty crazy, because last year I thought it was pretty crazy for me playing up two years with 1992s, and now I'm out here playing with 1989s. It's definitely something. It's pretty crazy. But, I'm doing it.

McKeen's: What's the locker room atmosphere like?

Ebert: We're pretty loose every now and then, but we try to keep it uptight, because that's where it's supposed to be, but every now and then we let it get a little loose so it's not too uptight. But, I like the way the locker room is, but we'll see.

McKeen's: In the locker room, most everybody has a nickname.

Ebert: Yeah.

McKeen's: So, what do the other guys call you?

Ebert: Everyone pretty much calls me "Eb" (pronounced "Eeb").

McKeen's: Pretty self-explanatory.

Ebert: Pretty simple. Right off my last night.

McKeen's: Yeah. Cedar Rapids, they have a guy, Jordan DiGiando, his nickname is "Woody."

Ebert: Oh, really?

McKeen's: And you might ask, "Why is that?" It's because he uses a wood stick.

Ebert: (Chuckles)

McKeen's: Sometimes people end up with nicknames that can't be re-printed for other reasons.

Ebert: (Laughs)

McKeen's: But I wouldn't expect a person to answer that way. "Oh, my nickname in the locker room is [censored, fairly tame word used often on TV now, but just in case]."

Ebert: (Laughs)

McKeen's: "Oh, alright. I can't wait for that to be printed." Back to a less humorous topic, players are obviously always looking to improve every aspect of their game that they can, but what are the areas that you've been really focusing on to help you take your game to the next level?

Ebert: Definitely being a two-way defenseman, that's what I'm really trying to do. Here, I'm trying to develop a little more. Obviously, as a defenseman, your main priority is to play defense, but, also, it's good to mix in a little offense there, to be a little dynamic. So, that's what I try to do. I try to make it as much as a two-way game as possible.

McKeen's: On the flipside, what would you say are the strengths of your game?

Ebert: I'd say, probably my skating. Definitely my skating, because I feel that I can get around pretty easily.

McKeen's: (Chuckles) Yes, I agree.

Ebert: (Chuckles)

McKeen's: Having seen you. At what point (pauses), what were some of the things that you did growing up to help you become such a good skater so soon?

Ebert: Well, the former Rangers' power skating coach, Sergei Siminov, he was my skating instructor. He taught me to skate for, around, I started going to him when I was like six, seven years old. He's taught me how to skate. He told me to wear the Graf skates, so I'm one of the few guys wearing the Graf skates nowadays.

McKeen's: I use Graf, too. I couldn't change back.

Ebert: Yeah, it's really tough. (Chuckles)

McKeen's: We've talked some about Waterloo and teammates, so who are some of your Waterloo teammates that impress you the most and why?

Ebert: Well, my defensive partner is Daniel Sova. He's definitely been leading me in a good direction here and has really helped me out a lot. Also, Brock Montpetit. He's probably one of our top forwards, he's been here for three years now. He really knows what he's talking about. I have a lot of respect for him. Derek Arnold, also. They're really helping me out a lot, talking to me, helping me out whenever I need anything. They're all three our captains, too, so it makes sense. But, they've really helped me a lot since I've been here.