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Junior Forward is All Around Competitor

By webjr, 12/12/10, 10:14AM CST

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Player of the Week: Bryce Hladovcak, F, Mosinee

 Being big and fast is never a bad thing on the ice, and it shows when you see Mosinee's Bryce Hladovcak in action.  Bryce's dizzying array of skills was on display last week and it earned him our week three Wisconsin Prep Hockey player of the week.

The Indians were in action twice this past week. First on Tuesday they knocked of Medford 10-1.  In that game Hladovcak had a hat-trick and one assist.  They followed on Thursday with a 2-0 shutout of Antigo.  Hladovcak had both goals in that game for the Indians.
 
Bryce is a three sport athlete for the Indians, and he does the dirty work in all three. In football, Bryce is a two-way player, playing running back for the offense (due to his speed and quickness) and on line on defense (because of his size). He's also the catcher for the Mosinee baseball team.
 
“Bryce leads mostly by example but does have a vocal role as well,” said Mosinee coach Derek Yirkovsky. “Teammates listen to him because of the his quality as a player and his size. I do not think many kids want to disagree with him.”
 
Coach Flesch was told by one talent evaluator that Hladovcak “shoots like a man in a boys league.” And it is that shot that helps to separate Bryce from your average high school hockey player.
 
“His shot is hard and quick and on stride,” said Yirkovsky. “We have a great goaltender [Wade Michalski] this year and he talks about how hard it is to stop Bryce’s shot because he shoots on stride and it is so hard that it is very hard to see.“
 
Hladovcak's size also lets him position himself at will in front of the opposing team's net, and his natural instincts put him into excellent scoring position.
 
“He has been one of the biggest kids on the ice since his freshmen year,” said Yirkovsky. “He also knows how to get into positions to get scoring opportunities. He has had scored numerous hat tricks in his career, but there are games that he could have scored 10 goals.“
 
As a junior, expect big things from Hladovcak over the next two years.