After three successful seasons at St. Cloud State University, Jonny Brodzinski was faced with a tough decision that two of his classmates went through the year before. Completing his junior season, the high scoring forward met with several LA Kings brass to decide his future.
Option A was to return for a senior season at the same school where his father played years before, while option B, which the Kings pushed hard for, was for him to sign an entry-level contract and turn pro. The previous year, Brodzinski’s teammates Nic Dowd and Kevin Gravel both found themselves in the same spot, and both returned for their senior years.
Now, Brodzinski is reunited with his former Husky teammates, as he recently signed a two year contract with the Kings. Brodzinski has reported to Manchester of the AHL, where he continues to rehab an ankle injury suffered at the end of his collegiate season. This past weekend, he spoke to MayorsManor about his decision to turn pro, his former teammates, and on his injury…
On the decision to turn pro:
“Probably my development was the biggest factor. Obviously, going back to school would have been nice, and finishing up my degree. All the LA guys kind of said that finishing out your degree – if you want to do it, you can do it, whether you’re in college or not. I think what’s best for me as a hockey player right now is to turn pro and see where things go.”
On having Dowd and Gravel in Manchester to help his transition:
“It’s really nice. They’re into the team now, so it’s a little bit easier to meet the guys now. I already knew about 3/4 of them from the development camps and stuff like that, so the transition is definitely a little bit easier.” [Reporter: Did they offer you a spot on their couch?] “Oh, of course.”
On how his season ended at St. Cloud:
“Obviously, we wanted to be where North Dakota was [in the Frozen Four], but you’ve got to just put that behind you. We let up a couple bad bounces, but what can you do.”
On not being a prolific scorer in juniors to transitioning to scoring 20 goals in all three collegiate seasons:
“Probably just being put into a role to succeed [was a big factor], [and] being put on a line with [Drew] LeBlac and Kalle Kossila, who also had a really great freshman year. I think it was really easy to succeed with those guys.”
On what the Kings plans are for him:
“As of right now, I’m just trying to get my ankle healthy. [I have a] low ankle sprain – it was a pretty bad one too. Just trying to nurse that right now and get it healthy. Not sure when I’ll be back. They said two weeks [mid week last week], then we’ll see where it is from there.” [Reporter: Didn’t you also suffer a high ankle sprain?] “It was a low and a high. The high wasn’t as bad as they thought it was going to be.”
On if he was fully determined to return to the game in which he suffered the ankle injury:
“Yeah. If we would have lost that game, it would have been over anyways. I just gutted it out, and taped it up. I couldn’t walk on it for the first period. The second period was a little bit easier. Third period was okay; I couldn’t turn left at all. I just had to take right turns. It wasn’t too terrible in the third, because it kind of warmed up and the adrenaline was going at that time.”
On if he’s been able to skate since the injury:
“Just working out off-ice. I haven’t touched the ice since the end of the year [with St. Cloud]. I can’t run right now. The only thing I can do right now is power walk.”
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