RMU Hockey Player Attends Penguins Prospect Camp

Andrew Blazek, a student at , has always wanted to play in the NHL. 

He took a step toward realizing that dream when he received an invite to the Pittsburgh Penguins prospect camp.

"I never thought of it as real, a real reality until recently," Blazek said, acknowledging he still has a long road ahead of him and that there are no guarantees in sports.

Blazek, 23, was not selected in the NHL's entry draft in June. That's not uncommon in hockey because the draft concentrates on relatively young talent. Many late bloomers — and in hockey age 19 is considered to be late — go unnoticed. At 6-feet-1 and 190 pounds, Blazek has the frame for a good defenseman.

Until a year and a half ago, Blazek, a native of Upper St. Clair, played as a forward. So when scouts watched him play for RMU last year, in essence they were seeing Blazek for the first time as a defenseman.

After years of playing for teams in Pittsburgh's amateur hockey system—the USHL, NAHL and AHL — as a forward, scouts were checking out his skills as a defenseman.

Further confirmation that things were heading in the right direction for Blazek came when the Pittsburgh Penguins called and invited him to their prospect camp last month.

"It was a great opportunity. I learned so much," Blazek said.

 Head Coach John Hynes and Assistant Coach Alain Nasreddine of the Penguins' minor-league affiliate in Wilkes Barre/Scranton run the camp. 

"They are such a classy organization. They treat all of their players the same great way. They could have flown in anybody from anywhere to fill that final roster spot.  I was honored they chose to call me," Blazek said.

He learned a lot during camp, he said, including important lessons he will take back onto the ice this fall. He walked onto the Colonials team as a freshman. The team beat Miami University of Ohio — the No. 1 team in the nation — twice in three days that year.

Blazek feels he is finally where he belongs on the ice. A true defenseman at heart, his wry smile reveals a few missing chicklets, and he wears the false teeth he's acquired as badges of honor.

Blazek also attributes much of his success to his skating ability. His skating coach, Barb Benedetti, lives in South Carolina, but trains with Blazek and others at BladeRunners in Bethel Park. One of the others includes , an Upper St. Clair native who was drafted by and plays for the New York Islanders.

"When I work out with Dylan and other guys who have made it to the NHL it makes me feel my dream is more of a possibility," Blazek said.

Still, it only takes one NHL coach to keep a rising star grounded. Tom Fitzgerald, Assistant to the Penguins' General Manager, helped to run the camp and invited Blazek to attend.

"He told me he was impressed with my skating, and I need to work on the rush and getting better gaps," Blazek said.

Blazek will work on those skills at the Island Sports Center, where RMU will play its home schedule beginning in October. He won't be lighting the lamp too often -- defenseman rarely do.

Still fans won't need the same keen eye as the NHL scout who may be sitting in the front row to notice Blazek's potential.