NHL draft selection Tyler Muszelik anxious to earn starting spot with UNH men's hockey team
DURHAM — It took just one game as a fill-in goalie for his youth hockey team for erstwhile forward Tyler Muszelik to realize that he could make more of an impact stopping pucks than shooting them.
“The biggest thing I like about it is how much you can control the game,” he said. “I think it’s the most important position. It’s special. It’s awesome when you make a big-time save and there’s no better feeling than that.”
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The New Jersey native hopes some of that excitement is in his future as an incoming freshman on the University of New Hampshire hockey team after spending the last two years with the US National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan, honing his craft under the tutelage of Rochester native and well-traveled goalie guru David Lassonde, a former assistant coach at UNH.
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One of three goalies on the Wildcats’ roster, Muszelik, who turned 18 on July 1, was selected in the sixth round of the NHL Entry Draft in late June, 189th overall, by the Florida Panthers and recently returned from their development camp.
“I had a really good season this year so I had talked to a decent amount of NHL teams,” he said. “I was ranked in a pretty good spot. I wouldn’t say I expected to (get drafted.) You never want to expect anything but I was really hoping to and I was real happy when I did.”
Muszelik was on campus with members of his family when his name was called.
“I was just super happy,” he said. “It’s a special moment. I was happy to spend it with my family. It’s really cool to be part of an organization where they believe in you and want you to be part of the team one day.”
Muszelik prepared for the moment by proving himself against quality opponents from the USHL and NCAA Division I.
“It was definitely a great experience to play against higher-level competition and older guys,” he said. “I think it prepared me well for college. I think you learn a lot of things when you play against older guys and things you have to do differently. The little things matter a lot more when you’re playing higher-end competition instead of just playing kids your own age. I think it’s set me up really well.”
Muszelik had a 10-3 record against the USHL with a 3.17 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. He went 8-2 against the NCAA teams with a 3.00 GAA and a .896 SP. He finished 24-5-3 overall and won a silver medal at the World Junior Championships.
"There's not a lot of ‘wow’ to what he does," Lassonde told the Morristown (N.J.) Daily Record in January. "He came in with that structure, that style to his game, very calm. I think it's good. More often than not, it leads to a lot less situations where you find yourself out of position. It's all about playing under control, and that's a strength of his."
Going into the draft Muszelik was ranked fourth out of 40 North American goalies by the NHL Central Scouting Service.
“He has a growth mindset and he’s coachable,” said Lassonde, noting he has to be more consistent regardless of the opponent. “The competition is very high and our group is very young. Goalies, especially the 17 year, get thrown into the fire very quickly. Even if they don’t necessarily perform, it’s basically a two-year commitment to those kids. The hope is they develop, they get better and by the time they leave they put themselves in a position to have a good career.”
Muszelik prioritizes positioning over athleticism.
“I try to rely more on my position and being in the right spot than having to rely on making crazy, acrobatic saves,” he said. “I think I try to be a little more calm, more patient and just be in the right spot. I don’t try to chase the game too much. I kind of wait for things to come to me and I try not to get out of position too much. When I need to I can be athletic and make some acrobatic saves but for the most part I try to be in the right position and not have to move too much.”
Muszelik’s competition at UNH will come from senior David Fessenden and junior Jeremy Forman. Fessenden played in 11 games last season with seven starts (2-4-1). He had a 2.19 GAA and a .904 SP. Forman appeared in just three games last season.
“I’m going to do my best to play some games,” Muszelik said. “Once I do play my best hockey hopefully I’ll earn the starter’s spot and I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to do that.”
Being from New Jersey he wanted to go Division I somewhere on the East Coast, preferably in Hockey East. He eventually chose UNH over Providence and Boston College.
“(Lassonde) gave me some advice and brought me through a lot of different scenarios,” Muszelik said. “I wouldn’t say he told me one thing or another, he just kind of put them out on the table and I got to choose where I thought was best for me. He obviously knows a lot about UNH so he gave me a lot of good knowledge that was real helpful to me.”
Once a national power, the Wildcats have struggled in recent years and are coming off a 14-19-1 campaign. Muszelik is looking forward to working with former UNH standout and ex-NHL goalie Ty Conklin, the Wildcats’ current goalie coach.
“The history of the program was pretty important,” Muszelik said. “They used to be a really good team. There are some good goalies who’ve come through there like Ty Conklin and Casey DeSmith (of the Pittsburgh Penguins). I want to be a part of bringing the team back to where they used to be and I’m really excited to do that.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: UNH freshman goalie Tyler Muszelik taken in NHL Entry Draft by Florida Panthers
