During Chicago Blackhawks development camp last summer, Frank Nazar — fresh off being drafted in the first round — looked and sounded like a fresh-faced kid.
“Just seeing the jersey and realizing that this is the NHL kind of set in, like, ‘Wow, this is what I’ve always been looking forward to.’ I thought that was pretty cool,” a wide-eyed Nazar told Chicago reporters in July.
Less than a year later, you can hear the maturation in Nazar’s voice.
“I guess that’s what college does to you,” he said with a laugh during an interview with the Tribune.
“I’m just learning all those life aspects, like learning how to cook or how to do my own laundry. Just trying to figure my way around.”
It’s more than that.
Nazar went through some sobering experiences during his freshman season at Michigan.
The center’s start was delayed last fall by a lower-body injury that required surgery — he still doesn’t want to get into the details — but he learned a lot about himself from that early setback.
“When I first found out the news, I was kind of scared, like, ‘Oh, am I missing the whole season? Like, am I going to be out the whole time?’
“I was able to find out that if I worked really hard and (if) everything went really well recovery-wise, I’d be able to come back and make it for the playoffs. So every time I went to the weight room or went on the ice, it was something that I thought of for a goal.”
Nazar was out 18 weeks and returned Feb. 10 for the Wolverines’ Big Ten tournament series against Michigan State.
The first game was uneventful for Nazar — a good thing — but he had reservations about playing the next day, the “Duel in the D” in Detroit.
“I was still debating whether I should play in the second game, so I didn’t push it too hard,” he said. “I ended up deciding to play because it’s a big game.”
He played and he scored — unassisted.
“Definitely helped a lot,” Nazar said. “It was a pretty good bounce my way, but I ended up getting into a 2-on-1 and coming in and faking the shot and shooting it over the goalie’s glove.
“But (it meant a lot) just scoring that goal after being out for so long in front of that many people, and I had a ton of friends and family there.”
He learned a lot last season about mental strength — and not only his own.
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After a locker room outbreak of adenovirus, defenseman Steven Holtz was placed into a medically induced coma after suffering complications.
“Just going through what I went through,” Nazar said, “and what our team had to go through with all of our ups and downs with our player being put into a coma and him coming out, and scoring the game-winning goal (in overtime March 3) against Wisconsin in our first playoff game … mental strength was a huge part of my game that I was able to dial in on and realize how important it was.”
Nazar finished with two goals and five assists in 13 games but didn’t feel like his game reached 100%.
“After going through an injury like that, being able to come back and gain more speed and power, I think that’s what I was missing a little bit at the end of the year — that little jump,” he said. “I didn’t feel slow, but I didn’t feel like I had that one extra step on the guy like I normally do.”
That has been part of his training this summer — “I’ve got a lot of making up to do after missing some time” — as well as building on his skills.
He considers himself “a little underrated” on defense, “just like my hockey IQ and being able to read plays and be able to transition from defense to offense fast and use that to my advantage.”
Nazar is likely a candidate to join the Hawks after his second college season ends next spring, but he didn’t want to speculate on his future beyond the fall.
He plans to attend Hawks development camp after this month’s draft, then “I plan on coming back to Michigan for next year as of right now. Have a good summer and come back even better.”