CHARLIE
KRONSCHNABEL
Alaska Anchorage
So. | F | Mendota Heights, Minn.
With
the Seawolves' top three scorers gone, Kronschnabel is
the team's top returning point producer (22 last year).
Key
Statistics: Alaska Anchorage’s top returning
scorer after recording 9 goals and 13 assists as a freshman.
At 6-4, Kronschnabel and Minnesota’s Barry Tallackson
are the two tallest returning forwards in the WCHA (Michigan
Tech defenseman John Scott is 6-7). Kronschnabel’s high
school, Cretin-Derham Hall, produced 2000 Heisman Trophy winner
Chris Weinke (Florida State) and Minnesota Twins catcher Joe
Mauer.
What
He Does: Kronschnabel and linemate Justin Bourne
refer to themselves as “skrinders” – a term
Bourne coined to designate a player who’s not quite
talented enough to be a skill guy and not quite tough enough
to be a grinder. That pair benefited last season when most
of the opponents’ attention was focused on the Seawolves’
top line of Curtis Glencross, Chris Fournier and Ales Parez.
With Glencross and Fournier gone, Kronschnabel looks to go
from cracking the roster of a one-win team as a recruited
walk-on a year ago to being the center of attention as a sophomore.
The
Bigger Picture: Seawolves coach John Hill knows where
his team fits into the national recruiting picture. A college
outside the continental U.S. is
rarely the first choice of the elite players, which is why
Hill admits that he’s fortunate to have Kronschnabel
wearing the green and gold of UAA. “We saw some things
in Charlie that other WCHA coaches might not have seen,”
Hill says. “If they had, I don’t think he would’ve
escaped the lower 48.” With plenty of offensive holes
to fill this season, Seawolf fans are sure to be thankful
that coach Hill’s keen recruiting eye brought Kronschnabel
north to the future.
Alaska
Anchorage coach John Hill on Kronschnabel: “Charlie
is a big kid with soft hands, and he’ll get an increased
workload this season. He’s certainly ready to build
on some good things he did in his first year.”
