(Photo:Allyson Cummings/WCSN)
As a newcomer, one has to get acclimated to a new style of play, create on-ice chemistry and become a part of the locker room aura. Reiterating what the other new recruits have stated, freshman forward Mak Barden said the Sun Devil hockey team is like a family.
“It’s fantastic. They just welcome you as part of the family right away,” Barden said. “There’s no hostility and there’s no older guys vs. newer guys. We all kind of just come together as a family and that’s what hockey’s all about.”
Barden is another member of Arizona State’s stacked recruiting class. While he was one of the later recruits, Barden knew he wanted to come to Tempe to play Sun Devil hockey.
“I was pretty much thrown into it at a young age,” Barden said. “It was just part of my family growing up, and it was a given that I was going to play hockey at some point.”
Looking at schools in Chicago, New York and Boston before committing, there was one huge factor that set Arizona State apart from his other offers.
“I mean when you can come to the weather here, it’s kind of a no-brainer,” he said.
After receiving his acceptance letter to Arizona State, Barden was not at all hesitant to commit. Leaving the British Columbia Hockey League behind, he found the transition on the ice to also be effortless.
“The BCHL is one of the top Junior A leagues in Canada. It’s very high-paced and definitely high-caliber,” Barden said. “It’s more finesse than body contact, which is kind of the same down here. It’s fairly easy to adapt to my style of play.”
Calling himself a natural center, Barden enjoys both the offensive and defensive aspects of the game. One of the things he cites as most important to his game is playing both ends of the ice.
“I try to score as much as I can, but at the same time I’m not going to let my defensive zone slip,” Barden said. “I consider myself a playmaker, a very defensively-responsible playmaker.”
However, hockey wasn’t always the only sport in his life.
At the same time he started skating, he also picked up a catcher’s mitt and fell in love with baseball. Playing hockey in the winter and baseball in the summer as he grew up, hockey eventually won out and he began playing it year-round. As a catcher, one would naturally think he would be between the pipes on the ice.
“Yes, I was a catcher, but I would never be a goalie,” Barden said. “I couldn’t imagine saving pucks or anything.”
Barden chose the ice instead of the field and now has three goals and two assists this season. Sitting at home and watching the Sun Devils win a national championship last year just fueled his desire to do better.
“I’m going to give 110 percent every time I’m on the ice, and hopefully we’ll be able to repeat this year,” Barden said. “That’s the goal.”
You can reach Zuriel on Twitter @zurieloving or by email zloving@asu.edu.
