Cameron Berg hoping to be a go-to center for UND

Oct. 13—GRAND FORKS — Each year at the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff, the league hands out an award for the best defensive forward.

In four of the last nine years, the winner has been a UND centerman.

In 2015, Mark MacMillan won it. In 2018, it was Rhett Gardner. Then, Shane Pinto and Connor Ford won it in back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022.

The recent list of great two-way UND centers is a long one.

Jasper Weatherby, Tyson Jost, Luke Johnson, Corban Knight, Carter Rowney, Brad Malone, Chris VandeVelde, T.J. Oshie, Jonathan Toews and Travis Zajac all parlayed their reliability in the defensive zone, strength on faceoffs and skill level to reach the NHL.

While UND had solid center play last season, it lacked the type of true No. 1 centerman it has had in the past.

So, when Omaha forward Cameron Berg entered the transfer portal this spring, UND coach Brad Berry saw him as a perfect fit.

"He's a strong, heavy body up the middle," Berry said. "I mean heavy in a good way — he has strong hands, he's strong on pucks. He also can make high-level plays. He can shoot a puck. He plays with firmness."

Berg, who grew up in West Fargo, has been getting looks at centering UND's top line during fall skates.

The fourth-round pick of the New York Islanders showed his ability to produce offensively during his first two collegiate seasons in Omaha.

He tallied eight goals and 23 points as a freshman. Last season, he had 10 goals and 24 points, including a goal against the Fighting Hawks in the NCHC playoffs.

"He's a guy that's been playing in the middle of the rink as a top-six forward," Berry said. "He can distribute pucks to skill guys on the wing as well. He brings a two-way game, but he has some pretty good high-end ability offensively."

UND only lost one center from last season's team — captain Mark Senden.

It returns senior Louis Jamernik V, senior Griffin Ness, junior Jake Schmaltz and sophomore Owen McLaughlin. Sophomore Ben Strinden also has experience at center.

McLaughlin and Schmaltz centered the top two lines last season, but one is likely to either drop down a line or move to wing with Berg's arrival.

"I wanted to stay in the NCHC," Berg said about his time in the transfer portal. "I think it's the best conference to develop your game and play in. When I entered the portal, a couple of teams reached out — North Dakota being one of them. Talking with them, my family and my advisor, we felt like this was going to be the best decision for me."

Last season, UND won 52.1 percent of its draws — a good number, No. 19 nationally.

But it was nowhere near where the Fighting Hawks have been in previous years — 55.6 percent (No. 3 nationally) in 2021-22, 56.2 (No. 1) in 2020-21, 54.1 (No. 6) in 2019-20 and 57.1 (No. 1) in 2018-19.

Schmaltz was UND's most effective faceoff man last season, winning 56.1 percent of draws. Jamernik was at 52.2 and McLaughlin at 50.3.

Berg won 52.8 percent of his draws last season at Omaha.

"When it comes down to it, it's basically a one-on-one battle," Berg said. "It's making sure I'm ready to go, I'm focused, I'm looking at film to see what some of their plans are. But at the end of the day, it's just... how intense am I going to be in the dot?"

Berg said he's been working to get to know UND's defensemen in practice to prepare to play center.

"For a center, you're always down low working with the defensemen a lot," he said. "So when we are doing D-zone coverage in practice, I'm making sure I'm in the right spots and I'm communicating with the 'D.' Communication is huge. If you're not doing it, things don't go right. It's making sure I'm doing all the little things right to prepare myself."

And if he's called upon to win a big draw late in a game protecting a lead, Berg says he'll be ready.

"I feel confident just to win it or at least the goal is to not lose it clean," he said. "I'm pretty confident I can do that and be a good, reliable center."