Never, ever, when he was lacing up his skates at the Bradley Center, did Spencer Stastney imagine himself playing across the street at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
He was a little kid from Mequon, just one of the hundreds of awkward youth players who skate between periods of Milwaukee Admirals games throughout every season. What did he know about what might happen a half dozen steps down the line? He was there for the camaraderie with his Winter Club teammates and the opportunity to play under bright lights, in front of thousands of people, rather than dozens, in a building that was erected in the hope of attracting the National Hockey League.
“We were just a big sports family, so we did a little bit of everything,” Stastney said. “I don’t remember being a huge Admirals fan. We’d go to Wave games, we’d go to Admirals games, a little bit of everything. It was always special being here and playing at intermission and being with the team.
“Even, like, we’re not doing anything tonight, let’s go to the Admirals game. Make it fun.”
Fast forward to June 2018. A graduate of the Chicago Mission youth program, a member of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, and a freshman-to-be at Notre Dame, Stastney was chosen in the fifth round of the NHL draft by Nashville.
The bell went off in his head.
“Getting drafted and all of this was pretty surreal in the moment,” Stastney said. “Just getting drafted by the Predators and realizing that wow, their (American Hockey League affiliate) team’s here in Milwaukee, was awesome. That was really cool.”
Four years at Notre Dame served Spencer Stastney well
So fast forward again – through the full college experience – and here is Stastney, lacing up his states at the Arena, across the street from where the Bradley Center once stood, beginning his first full season as a professional hockey player.
“Just looking at my college options, education is something that my family really prioritized,” said Stastney, who went to elementary school and middle school in Mequon but moved to Chicago before high school. “When you go to a school like Notre Dame, you don’t want to leave there without a degree. And going back is something that’s pretty tough. You don’t always know you’re going to have time to do that.
“So I knew going into college – and I was really vocal with the Predators and Milwaukee and they were all very supportive – I want to do four years, I want to graduate, I want to leave there with a degree. Fortunately that’s something I accomplished and thankfully the people here and in Nashville were really accommodating. It’s a proud moment.”
As was suiting up for the Admirals, which he did for two games in the spring after his college season ended, and then with Nashville during training camp.
Speed, skating, smarts and patience will help Spencer Stastney with the Milwaukee Admirals
The smooth-skating, 5-foot-11, 190-pound defenseman is just the second player who grew up in the Milwaukee area to suit up for the team, following Brookfield-raised goaltender Troy Grosenick (2017-20).
The regular season begins with road games scheduled for Saturday at Chicago and Wednesday in Grand Rapids before the Oct. 22 home opener against Manitoba.
“(Stastney) might be the best skater on the team,” Admirals coach Karl Taylor said. “He looks effortless on the ice.
“He’s a strong guy, he’s sturdy, he’s smooth. … He’s got a lot of upside. We’re excited to work with him. He’s very receptive to the coaching and he’s got a very bright future.”
Smiles seem to come easy to Stastney, and hearing of Taylor’s compliment about his skating brought a big grin.
That’s part of his game he believes will help him to progress at this level the way he did in college. Ditto for patience.
“Something you learn at Notre Dame is just playing a smart, simple, well-thought-through game, and I think that’s something I’ll bring here especially when it’s a stronger league, a faster league, just trying to use my speed, use my intelligence and strength,” Stastney said. “Be a smart player out there. Then when I get a chance to do something, try to show what I have.
“But it’s just getting confidence this first year and trying to have some fun.”
Playing four years of college hockey may not be the most common way for a player to make his way to the NHL, although the Admirals do have nine players who have done so, including defenseman Jordan Gross, who also went to Notre Dame.
The route served Stastney well.
He set personal highs in goals (seven), assists (20) and points (27) last season, leading all Irish defensemen. He served as an assistant captain, was named the team’s MVP and blossomed into one of the program’s all-time best defenders.
“I believe, as coaches, when we get them now, they’re a more mature, developed individual,” Taylor said. “He’s not a kid, he’s a young man. Some of the kids coming out of junior, they’ve had billets (host families), they haven’t lived by themselves. This guy’s lived four years by himself and handled all those things on his own.
“The other thing is, if a guy comes out of college earlier, they lose those third years, fourth years, when you’re in a leadership position. You’re in a spot where you’re relied on, you’re a part of the leadership group. Those experiences are important as you move through the pros.”
Plans for life after hockey for Spencer Stastney revolves around finance and film
Something else Stastney has is that degree, which gives him more options should his hockey development stall at some point.
A contingency plan is sometimes viewed as a lack of urgency or commitment on an athlete’s part, but that’s not the way Stastney sees it.
With a double major in business and finance and film – “to stand apart from the rest of the résumés” – he can envision himself working in corporate finance in the entertainment industry at some point. Just not yet.
“I’m all in,” Stastney said of hockey. “But I think it’s healthy for everyone to have passions outside of hockey and that’s some of what this is. But it’s also nice to have that piece of paper there saying this passion, there’s also work involved in that and it’s something that I’ve accomplished.”
Just one more thing that youth player from Mequon couldn’t have imagined.
