Nick Huard is leaving for Germany at the end of the month, but he is hoping a one-year contract helps him get a skate in the door as the next phase of his pro hockey career unfolds.
Huard, 26, agreed to a deal this past week with the Dresden Ice Lions, a second-division German club. The five-foot-nine, 180-pound forward is coming off two successful seasons with the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones, and feels he is prepared to take the next step overseas.
“It’s a one-year deal but I’m hoping it leads to a few years of being over there,” said Huard, who has been spending some of the off-season in Guelph, where he starred for the OUA Guelph Gryphons for three seasons from 2012-15.
A product of the North Bay Trappers ‘AAA’ system, Huard played in all 72 games this past season in Cincinnati, leading the team with 18 goals and 49 points. As a rookie in 2015-16, Huard put up 21 goals and 52 points in 72 games.
After the season ended, he was put in contact with an agent whose focus is on finding North American players a place Europe. Huard also had been gathering some information from local North Bay pro hockey veterans Russ Moyer and Matt Marquardt, who are now based in Europe. Huard’s former North Bay Blades bantam ‘AAA’ coach, Mark Kosturik, who carved out a 15-year career in Germany, has also provided some guidance.
“I had definitely been thinking about (moving to Europe), especially this past season,” Huard said. “The grind in the Coast is pretty hard, playing 72 games with three lines, playing 20 minutes a night. Talking to players who I’ve played with who are over in Europe and hearing their schedule, and playing on an Olympic-sized sheet with a 45-game schedule, it just sounded almost too good to be true. So once I ended the season and talked to an agent, it was almost like a no-brainer to go over there.”
Huard, a two-time OUA All-Star who helped Guelph to an OUA men’s hockey championship in 2015, expects a more skilled game when he laces his skates up in Germany.
“I’m assuming it’s going to be a bit of a step up in terms of level of play, which is also nice,” he said. “But the biggest thing is the opportunity – if I do really well, it just opens doors for top leagues in other countries or maybe even the top league in Germany the following year.”
The off-season is short, with Huard leaving on July 30 to get set for a six-week training camp which opens Aug. 7. Huard has been away from home playing hockey since age 17, when he split the 2008-09 season in the QMJHL with Victoriaville and Lewiston before spending the next three years in New Brunswick with the Woodstock Slammers, winning a pair of Maritime Junior ‘A’ championship. He said the additional experience gained at the OUA level in Guelph and the pro hockey level in Cincinnati will help him adjust on and off the ice in Dresden.
“It’s definitely helped mature me as a person, coming out of university and moving into the Coast where you’re pretty much on your own to fend for yourself,” he said. “You’re taken care of, but you pretty much learn almost everything on your own. All the experience Cincinnati has given me, especially the opportunity to start my pro career, I am thankful for that. I can say the whole process has helped me as a player and will help me over in Germany with adapting to a new culture and being there by myself learning the German ways.”
When given a chance to show his offensive game at both the OUA and ECHL level, Huard has thrived. As one of four import players in Dresden, he expects there will be pressure from coach Franz Steer to perform and bring his game to a higher level, but he is up for the challenge. And even if the scoring dries up for a week or two, as long as the team is winning, everyone will be happy.
“I think I’ve benefitted from playing in Guelph, where I got used to playing on the big ice surface,” he said. “I like the extra space to make some plays. I look forward to it.
“I am pretty stoked about going and hopefully, starting a career over in Europe.”
