“We have the luxury of having him play in Boston, and a number of our scouts and personnel have seen him play,” Gorton said.

In a relatively short period of time, Nowak has impressed his hockey audience in viewings at Hotchkiss and Harvard and his time at the Bruins training camps.

“He’s got pretty good size, a good base for a centerman,” Gorton continued. “He’s a heady player, he sees the ice well.”

Many of Gorton’s comments on the strengths of Nowak’s game echo thoughts voiced by both Mazzoleni and Nowak’s teammates.

“Brett is a great combination of size and skill,” Packard said. “He has very good one-on-one abilities and stickhandling skills, but also has the size to play physical down low and come out with the puck.”

Adding that in addition to size and skating ability the fact that Nowak has great hands, for both passing the puck and receiving it, Crimson captain Dom Moore thinks that sometimes Nowak’s on-ice skills are under-appreciated by the fans.

“When you put these things together you have a potent mix,” Moore said. “I think sometimes people overlook just how uncommon it is to have someone with size also sharing the level of quickness and skill he displays.”

Continuing to display a mix of size and speed will be important if Brett wants to play hockey beyond the collegiate level, which he does.

“I will have to improve my strength and speed,” Nowak said. “The guys at the next level can really skate well and in order to succeed I must match their speed and strength.”

Size and strength were two of the traits that Gorton mentioned as keys for Nowak, as was shot improvement. And, as Mazzoleni said, Nowak also believes he has progressed significantly in that area over time, showing critics that he is capable of anchoring the No. 1 line on a competitive college hockey team.

“It has been great to see him have two fully healthy years and show everyone just how good he is,” Moore said. “He has become a more complete player and also a more confident player in the process.”

And, as Brett Nowak graduates, he can be confident that his improvement over four years at Harvard has been noted not just by coaches and teammates, but also by an NHL team eager to utilize his mix of size and speed.

—Staff writer Timothy M. McDonald can be reached at tmcdonal@fas.harvard.edu.