Anchoring the Crimson’s top forward line the past two seasons, senior Brett Nowak has improved by leaps and bounds since his injuries sidetracked his early years at Harvard.

Playing primarily alongside juniors Tyler Kolarik and Dennis Packard the past two years, Nowak’s numbers shot up. His point totals for freshman and sophomore year were 17 and 14 respectively. Junior year he scored 14 goals, finishing with 30 total points and recognition on the all-ECAC team.

Part of the disparity can be explained away by ice time. In his sophomore season Nowak was sidelined for nearly a third of the season. But ailments alone do not justify his jump in numbers; the other part of that story lies in practice and off-season improvement according to Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni.

“Brett’s game took major steps forward the last two years,” Mazzoleni said.

“Over the last two years, he’s worked on his release and how quick he can get the puck off—that’s one of the reasons he’s scored a higher number of goals these last two seasons,” he added.

A better shooter’s touch is not all Nowak developed over his final two season in a Harvard sweater; he has also developed into a capable passer with excellent on-ice vision, something Mazzoleni describes as “a strong feel for the game.”

That feeling has helped Brett’s assist numbers climb from seven in his sophomore slump to 16 in his junior year and 29 in his final Crimson campaign.

“Going into his junior year, Brett made a major improvement in distributing the puck and learning how to use his linemates wisely,” Mazzoleni said

The prime beneficiaries of that improvement are Kolarik and Packard, who received Nowak’s passes on Harvard’s top line.

“After playing on a line with Brett for two years, I’ve really learned to appreciate the way he uses his linemates,” said Packard, whose points total has jumped from eight his freshman year to 36 over the last two seasons.

“He knows when to move the puck and when to try to beat a defender one-on-one,” Packard added. “He showed the last two years that, when he was healthy, he was one of the best players in the league.”

Acknowledgement as one of the best players in the league was not as forthcoming this year as last. Despite tallying 11 additional points and being a major offensive threat and power play option on the ECAC’s second-best team, Nowak was not voted onto the all-conference team, a conspicuous absence in many peoples minds.

“He put up numbers that I believe were deserving of league recognition, but that didn’t happen,” Mazzoleni said. “From the position of our coaching staff, he definitely deserved a spot on the all-ECAC team.”

The lack of recognition is water under the bridge now, but after graduation, Nowak will face the competition for spots again. A draft pick of the Boston Bruins, Nowak will be competing and training to claim a spot in the Bruins’ organization, be it Boston or, more likely at first, Providence (site of the Bruins AHL club).

The close proximity of the Bruins front office personnel to the Bright Hockey Center has given the team numerous opportunities to observe Nowak, according to Bruins assistant general manager Jeff Gorton.