Griff Slightam remembers well what it was like to play varsity hockey — including playing in a section final and under the bright lights of the Xcel Energy Center in a state tournament — as an eighth-grader.
So, the Rochester Lourdes junior defenseman wasn't surprised to see Lourdes forward Montana Streit improve leaps and bounds from the start of last season to the end.
"It was amazing to see his transformation, coming in as an eighth-grader last year," Slightam said. "You could tell he was a little nervous early in the season, but he came around and by the end of the season he was flying around.
"He was faster than anybody on the ice, he was aggressive ... he really figured it out."
Streit figured it out to the point that he caught the eyes of hockey coaches and leaders at the state and national level, just as Slightam has the past two years.
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They both spent a week in Buffalo, N.Y., in late June/early July participating in a USA Hockey Select Development Camp. Streit participated in the Select 15 camp (for the top 15-year-old players from across the U.S.), while Slightam competed in the Select 17 camp.
For Slightam, it marked his second consecutive summer in a Select camp, after playing in the Select 16 camp in 2012.
"Going out there in my 16 year, I was a little scared, didn't really know what to expect," said Slightam, who had nine goals and 13 assists for Lourdes last season. "I took it very seriously. This time, I took everything with a grain of salt and just tried to have fun.
"I learned a lot of puck skills and what to do in all situations, because it's those little things that will get you noticed."
Streit and Slightam are both preparing now to help Lourdes attempt to defend the Section 1A championship it has won each of the past five seasons. While Streit hopes to become a bigger offensive threat this year (he had six points last season, half of them in the postseason), Slightam will be relegated to basically being another coach.
A torn labrum in his shoulder, suffered during the football season, will keep him sidelined for six months.
"He just has to be a leader," Lourdes coach Josh Spaniol said, "and come to the rink every day like he's playing the game. He'll be the guy to get our guys going, pump them up. We need Griff around; we need him in the locker room."
As for Streit, though he's just a freshman, he wants to help fill the void created by the graduation of Jason Samuelson and Alex Funk, Lourdes' top two all-time leading scorers.
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"I'm a lot more confident, more relaxed," said Streit, who had four points in five games at the Select 15 camp. "(Last year) the first game was a little scary, but after that it kept getting better and I got more and more comfortable with the speed of the game and the size of the players.
"I definitely put pressure on myself (to score) this year and years to come. Jason and Alex are some of the best players to ever play here. I feel like I want to step into their role and fill their shoes a little bit."
Slightam knows what it's like to fill the shoes of talented players who came before him. As a freshman, stepped into spots vacated by talented defensemen such as his brother, Sam, and Alec Brandrup.
"Those guys, they're special players," Spaniol said of Slightam and Streit. "They work hard. They caught the eyes of people who like what they've seen. It's special for them and special for the guys they play with, too."
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Griff Slightam remembers well what it was like to play varsity hockey — including playing in a section final and under the bright lights of the Xcel Energy Center in a state tournament — as an eighth-grader. So, the Rochester Lourdes junior defenseman wasn't surprised to see Lourdes forward Montana Streit improve leaps and bounds from the start of last season to the end.
