Checking In with Steve Jakiel
9/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Freshman goaltender Steve Jakiel stands out as U-M's tallest player on the roster this season at 6-4. The 20-year-old netminder seemingly takes up the entire net simply by positioning himself in the crease.
Jakiel
Born in Livonia, Mich., Jakiel moved as a child to Santa Clarita, Calif., where ice rinks were few and far between. After initially starting with roller hockey he made the switch to the ice at age 13.
Jakiel spent the past two seasons in the United States Hockey League. Playing for Indiana and Lincoln in 2005-06, he posted a 23-14-0 record with a 3.12 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.
Jakiel discusses his ties to the state of Michigan, how hockey is booming in California, and his thoughts on goalie competitions.
On his roommate in the dorms ...
"My roommate is trying out for the club lacrosse team. He's not on the hockey team. We get along pretty well. He's from Ohio. He's a nice kid, a freshman just like me. Everything is working out well. We live in West Quad. I'm right next to all the other hockey guys."
On finding his way around campus ...
"Everything is pretty easy from what I can tell. Basically all I need to know is State Street. Everything is State Street. It's pretty much the only street I know. Everything's been going pretty well."
On what classes he is taking ...
"I have a lot of science classes. I'm trying to prepare for the business school. I have a lot of prerequisites I have to do next semester. I'm trying to get some of the requirements right now with the distribution courses. Things are going pretty well. It isn't too difficult."
On why he would like to pursue a business degree ...
"When I'm done with hockey I want to get into some sort of hockey-related business, whether it be a goaltending school or an equipment representative. I still want to stay with hockey when I'm done, and there is a lot you can do with a business degree."
On what he did school-wise after finishing high school ...
"I finished high school two years ago. I didn't really do anything with formal classes. I helped guys out with work when they needed it during the year. I never took any classes in that two-year break. It's been an adjustment getting back into classes but I'm getting used to it. The study table thing really helps out. It gives you time to sit down and concentrate on your work. It's not easy because you're used to just sleeping in every day and not doing work."
On if goalies are really that different from other players ...
"In general, I think goalies are weird. I don't know why it is. There is only one of you on the ice at a time, so you have your own little thing going. There are three goalies on the team and we all work together, but when it comes down to it you have different skill sets than all the other players. Goalies have their own little world. They understand each other pretty well, but a lot of the players think we're weird. I don't really have anything that I really do that's superstitious. There are little things that I do that I don't even notice doing them. I'm sure there are little idiosyncrasies."
On his Michigan connection ...
"I was born here in Livonia. I lived out here until second grade, so I was eight. I moved out to California since my dad got transferred out there. I didn't play hockey in Michigan at all. I was just born here and went to school here for a little bit. I started playing hockey in California. I still have a lot of relatives out here. They live in Livonia, Plymouth and Taylor. I have a lot of aunts and uncles out here, so I still have a connection to the state.
"My dad and my aunt went to U-M Dearborn. They grew up in that area. They would commute to school every day. They both graduated at different times. My dad is a little older than my aunt. They really pushed U-M when I was growing up. We still watched all the football games. Every time we had a chance to watch Michigan sports we would."
On when he started playing hockey ...
"I started playing ice hockey when I was 13. I played roller hockey when I was about nine or 10. I didn't start out at goalie. I started out at forward. I wasn't very good at that, so that eventually led to goalie. I was about 10 when I became a roller hockey goalie. We had some kind of national championship in roller hockey when I was 11 or 12. Basically, that's all there was, widespread, in California. It started out with a lot of roller hockey rinks. They then started building a lot of ice rinks. When I turned 13 that's when I first played ice hockey. That's just because they built a rink in my town. They didn't have any rinks within 45 minutes of me before then. Once the ice rink got built everyone who played roller hockey in my town started playing ice hockey. That's the reason I switched over."
On hockey's growth in California ...
"When I started playing tier hockey, like AAA, there was only one AAA team and a minor AAA team in each division. The L.A. Junior Kings was what it was. There were only two midget AAA teams and two bantam AAA teams. Now there are probably 12 midget AAA teams in California. It's really grown fast. There are a good amount of players coming out of there now. A lot of guys go to major juniors. You always hear about guys from California now going to college or major junior. A couple of guys that I played with in California, like Bobby Ryan, who was drafted second overall a few years ago, have done well. He played on the junior teams with me. He wasn't born in California, but he was like me, moving there after a while. It's getting a lot more recognition now. It's growing."
On if it's fun to be somewhat of a trailblazer for young players in California ...
"The main guys who everyone looked up to in California were Brett Sterling from Colorado College, Gabe Gauthier from Denver, and Robbie Earl from Wisconsin. Those are the guys who everyone knew from California. There are a lot of kids from my teams that are playing college hockey too. It's pretty exciting that there are more and more guys making it from California.
"A lot of people say that Wayne Gretzky had a lot to do with that when he moved out to L.A. A lot of guys started playing hockey. That's not really the reason I started playing hockey. Gretzky brought a lot of good things as far as ice hockey is concerned in L.A. There has been a boom of interest because of the pro teams."
On his decision to play in the USHL ...
"I had a choice from midgets. I could go to the USHL or the BCHL. There were two teams looking at me from each league. I wanted to play Junior A hockey and I didn't have any college interest after midgets. It came down to either the USHL or the BCHL and I just decided to go with the USHL."
On when he realized he could play college hockey ...
"I had a pretty good season in midgets. I was the top goalie for the Max Midget Tournament, which is a big tournament out in Calgary. At that time I was getting a little bit of interest from colleges, but I was thinking that once I played in the USHL for a year I'd be able to play college hockey somewhere. I ended up being fortunate enough to play at Michigan. I've always wanted to play college hockey. That was something I was trying to achieve."
On his college recruitment process ...
"Michigan had been talking to me ever since I got to juniors, kind of back and forth. When I was younger -- I was 15 -- I went to Red Berenson's camp out here. I'd been talking to them on and off for a couple years. I had offers from Sacred Heart and Cornell at the end of my first year of juniors. Right after I got the offer from Cornell I got the offer from Michigan as well. That's when I decided to come here. It was basically between here and Cornell. Both are great schools and great programs, but I have the hometown connection here and I thought this was a better fit for me."
On if he's ever been to Yost Ice Arena for a game ...
"Actually I haven't. I've seen games on TV."
On what he's heard about the Yost crowd ...
"I hear a lot of things. I hear it's pretty crazy. There's a lot of noise and really good fans. I'm looking forward to experiencing it this season. We had some big crowds in juniors but not anything like this. A lot of the students go to the games and the alumni. More fans have a connection to the team. In juniors it's an organization. There are a lot of good fans but not the same atmosphere as here."
On if he had a favorite Michigan player growing up ...
"I followed Michigan goalies a lot. I heard a lot about Steve Shields, who I got to play with this summer down in Anaheim. That was pretty exciting for me. Steve Shields was the main guy. I followed a lot of the Michigan players on and off. I liked Marty Turco as well. I'm a goalie, so I follow all of the goalies. I liked Mike Cammalleri, Jed Ortmeyer and all the guys going in and out of the system."
On wearing number 33 ...
"My number in juniors and all the way back since I can remember was 43. But we couldn't get numbers over 40. Forty was kind of the cap. I just decided to keep the three on the end of it and switch to 33."
On his strengths on the ice ...
"I try to just be as patient as possible. I try to get my body in front of the puck. I try to play my game like a good positional goalie, like Patrick Roy or J-S. Giguere. They're always in good position and never have to make diving saves. I try to model my game after that. Obviously, I'm not at their level, but I try to stay nice and square and follow the puck."
On what's going right for him when he's having a good game ...
"There are some games when you just see the puck really well. You know where it's going somehow. Somehow the puck always seems to end up right in your body. That's how you know you're having a good game. You don't even feel like you have to do anything and the puck is just hitting you. It's a good feeling to have."
On goalie competitions ...
"We have three goalies here. I'm sure every one of us wants to be the guy who starts. It's all about just getting better. We can all push each other to be the best we can. No matter who starts, as long as the team is winning we're doing a good job. All three of us are in it together. We obviously all want to be the starter and play the games, but if any one of us plays the game and wins then the mission's accomplished. We're helping the team. I have had to compete for spots before. You don't try to put the other guys down or wish any bad on them. You just try to do the best you can."
Checking In with ... Schedule
Sept. 25 -- forward Anthony Ciraulo
Sept. 26 -- goalie Steve Jakiel
Sept. 27 -- defenseman Steve Kampfer
Sept. 28 -- forward Brian Lebler
Sept. 29 -- defenseman Chris Summers
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
