NATHAN
LAWSON
Alaska Anchorage
So. | G | Calgary, Alberta
Handling
the puck is as much a strength as stopping it for Lawson.
Key
Statistics: Lawson may have been the hardest-working
man in the WCHA as a freshman. He started 24 games for the
Seawolves and had 18 outings in which he made 30-plus saves.
His route to a spot on the WCHA’s all-rookie team included
seven games where his save total topped 40, including a season-high
45 in a playoff loss to Wisconsin.
What
He Does: In addition to natural athletic talent,
Lawson says he’s been blessed with an ability to sleep
anywhere. Even on airplanes. That’s a good thing when
one considers the thousands of air miles the Seawolves log
each season traveling to and from WCHA rinks, and considering
the 867 saves Lawson made as a rookie. Stopping better than
91 percent of the shots sent his way and leading his team
to within a controversial Badger goal of another trip to the
WCHA Final Five was enough to prompt Lawson’s teammates
to vote him both rookie of the year and team MVP last season.
The
Bigger Picture: With the workload he handled as a
freshman, one might think there was little time for Lawson
to do anything but deflect pucks. To the contrary, he says
that he likes to handle the puck as much as possible –
a trait reflected by the three assists he notched last season
(the most ever by a Seawolf netminder). Goalies have a normal
tendency to look ahead, knowing that the last shot you stopped
means nothing if the next shot gets by you. To that end, Lawson
has spent the summer lifting weights, swimming and working
with a goaltending tutor determined to stay healthy, get even
better and help the Seawolves earn home ice in the WCHA playoffs
for the first time ever.
Former Alaska Anchorage head coach John Hill on Lawson:
“We felt when he came in that he’d eventually
be the top guy, but after the Christmas break, he probably
played as well as anyone in the country. It’s safe to
say that he won some games for us damn near single-handedly.”
