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University of Massachusets Athletics
In the Crease: UMass Hockey Notebook
January 30, 2001 | Hockey
By RYAN NADEAU
The Maroon & White
Thomas P?ck never had to look far to find a hockey player to emulate both on and off the ice. In fact, he did not even have to look outside of his family. All he had to do was look to the man he called "Dad."
When Thomas was born in 1981, his father Herbert was a professional hockey player in Austria playing for the Klagenfurt Athletic Club. Some of Thomas' first memories of the sport he loves are about hanging around the rink and locker room of his father's team. The local paper even ran a picture of young Thomas wearing his father's hockey gloves that went up to his shoulders.
"Thomas was always around the team," said current UMass assistant coach Bill Gilligan, who used to be the head coach of Klagenfurt. "Thomas loved to go into the locker room, even in between periods during games."
Herbert was one of the best players in Austria. He was consistently on the roster of the Austrian National team and played in 11 World Championships and three Olympic games for his home country.
Gilligan described Herbert as a smart hockey player who was an exceptional playmaker. He said Herbert had great skills, but was a little "soft" as a player.
When he was finished with his professional career, Herbert began coaching and running hockey camps, and Thomas was always there. All throughout his hockey career, he remembers having his father as a coach and a mentor.
"Everything I know about the game, he was the first one to teach me," said Thomas of his father. "Especially in summer camps. I was always there spending two to three hours on the ice with him doing some extra stuff.
"He was always tough on me. I think he's a good coach. He was the first coach that ever sat me out though. We used to talk about hockey all the time. Other coaches have 20 kids to take care of, they can't talk to you everyday about what you need to worry about and what you have to practice more. He was always there to tell me because I was the only one."
From a young age Thomas was destined to follow in his father's footsteps and play hockey. For his first birthday, his grandmother gave him a hockey stick for a present, and as he grew older he used to go to summer hockey camps run by his father and uncle.
"When I e-mail my father the first few lines are always about hockey," said Thomas. "We still talk about hockey all the time."
Thomas learned the game from his father, but he has developed his own style of play. He is a good playmaker like his father, but he plays a lot more physical.
"Thomas has the ability to score goals," said sophomore teammate Samuli Jalkanen "He has a good shot, he is strong, he skates well and he sees the ice pretty well. Thomas is great player to have around the team, both on and off the ice."
Last spring Thomas had to make a decision of where he was going to play hockey this year. He could have remained in his home country of Austria, headed off to Canada to play major juniors or come to the United States and attend a university.
Thomas made the decision that education was more important than simply playing hockey all the time, and his father's relationship with coach Gilligan led to Thomas' arrival at UMass.
"If anything ever happens, I need an education," said Thomas. "I want to be able to get a good job after hockey. I want to get a job that I am going to like. Getting an education was the main factor in my decision to come over here.
"This is perfect," said Thomas of UMass. "I can play hockey all the time and get a solid education. I'm really happy about my decision to come here. This has been great."
-The Mass Attack-
Senior forward Kris Wallis and sophomore defenseman Samuli Jalkanen were recently named assistant captains of this year's team by head coach Don "Toot" Cahoon. Wallis and Jalkanen join senior forward Jay Shaw, who was named an assistant captain at the beginning of the season and senior forward Jeff Turner, who has been captain since the season began.