Nelson Gets Ice Time With Midwestern All-Stars

Peabody’s Peter Nelson was the only representative from Phillips Andover at the Hockey Night in Boston Major Showcase, and most of the players from Massachusetts had played for teams in the Massachusetts division.

However, that wasn’t the case for Nelson. The senior was drafted to the Midwest squad with players from Illinois, Ohio and Michigan.

“I don’t know how that happened, but it’s fun getting to play with kids I’ve never played with before,” Nelson said during the tournament last week. “They’re all good guys. I don’t know much about the Midwest, but they’re all pretty cool guys.”

The luck of the draw turned out to be good for Nelson because the Midwest team took second in the National division and then advanced to the quarterfinals to play TeamOne New England, but lost that game 6-2.

Nelson was able to pit his efforts against the best from Florida, Philadelphia, New York and eastern Canada. He says that playing at the prep school level has helped him play well against some of the best high school players in the country.

“They’re both pretty good levels of hockey,” Nelson said. “Prep is good hockey. As far as high school hockey goes it’s some of the best around. However, these guys are also some of the best from all around the country. So, it’s good competition.”

With dozens of scouts buzzing about the arena, Nelson, as well as all the other players at the Major Showcase, was looking to impress, but Nelson keeps it in perspective.

“You always want to step out there and do the best you can on the ice every time you’re out there,” Nelson said. “That doesn’t change for this tournament either.”

As far as being the lone Peabody representative in the whole eight-team National division, Nelson hadn’t given it much thought. He was just concerned with what happened on the ice.

“I never really thought about it,” Nelson said. “I guess it’s pretty cool.”