ALEX HUDSON
Nebraska-Omaha
Jr. | F | Corona, Calif.

Alex Hudson

Key Statistics: When Hudson gets a goal, you can probably expect to see another one that same night. Of his 20 career collegiate goals, 12 have come during six two-goal games. With 25 points last season, he is one of the Mavericks’ top-three returning scorers.

What He Does: The “prototypical” college hockey player from California is an undersized guy with amazing hands (think Brett Sterling, Rhett Rakhshani, etc.), developed on a roller hockey rink. While Hudson indeed got his start playing YMCA roller hockey just a short freeway jaunt east of the Anaheim Ducks’ home rink, his size and leg strength meant he used speed to find success, rather than relying on stickhandling. Mavericks coach Dean Blais said Hudson’s one-timer makes him effective at the top of the circles, but the coach prefers to put him near the crease in the offensive zone, using that size and strength to create trouble for the other team’s defense.

The Bigger Picture: Blais inherited Hudson when he took over the Nebraska-Omaha program a year ago and said the forward’s conditioning at the time was “just OK.” Since then, Hudson’s commitment to his playing shape and his overall game have picked up considerably. A communications and broadcasting major, Hudson has worked on both sides of the television camera in school, hoping to be a sports anchor when his playing days are over. As for his on-ice work, he spent part of the summer in Omaha working with a skating coach and significant time working with other notable pro and college players at a hockey camp in northern Minnesota. He’s also focused on stickhandling, learning to make more plays in tight corners. As a bigger and older collegian (Hudson turned 23 in early August) Blais said he’ll put Hudson in a leadership position this year and will look for a consistent every-night effort. The coach admits that with teammates looking to Hudson to set an example, if the forward goes through peaks and valleys, the Mavericks may follow suit in their first WCHA season.

Mavericks coach Dean Blais on Hudson: “He’s learned to be a more consistent every-night player. When he started it was a shift here and a shift there. Then he improved to a period here and a period there. Playing in the WCHA, he’s going to need to bring it all game every game.”