HOLDEN — It sounds redundant to consider a hockey player a “defensive defenseman,” but it isn’t a meaningless title. The designation is exactly how it sounds: A defensive defenseman specializes in protecting their team’s territory and keeping the puck out of its net.
Then there is the rushing defenseman, who ventures to take the puck up the length of the ice seeking scoring chances, and at the same time gets back to his zone to prevent an opponent from putting points on the board.
For Wachusett Regional High School senior co-captain Braeden McKenzie, how about some of both?
“I’ve never been the most offensive player. I enjoyed scoring goals when I played in house leagues, but I found myself playing more defense than offense, and it kind of just stuck with me,” McKenzie said. “I get plenty of offensive zone time. We’re pretty good at moving the puck to the defensemen, giving some opportunities to put the puck in the net.
“In my younger years, I used to be a little nervous with the puck. Being one of the older guys on the ice now, I’m able to rush the puck a little more, creating opportunities to score. I’ve been doing that more this year.”
“Braeden is an outstanding captain for our team,” said WRHS varsity ice hockey head coach Matt Lane. “On the ice, he’s an excellent defenseman with great puck skills. Off the ice, he’s a tremendous student and is in our National Honor Society. He has a teamfirst mentality, and he’ll do anything to help the team win.”
McKenzie was introduced to the sport of ice hockey at an early age, which led to playing time with the Shrewsbury Colonials as well as the Outlaws and Worcester Railers organizations. He currently assists the Railers teaching young skaters the basic fundamentals of the game. There were sniffs at different sports, but things always came back to being on the ice.
“I’ve grown up playing every sport you can think of. My dad’s a football coach (Andy McKenzie at Assumption University), but I never stuck with football. I played tackle football in middle school, but they never put any pressure on me. They just told me to go and play the sport I love, and that was hockey for me.
“Unlike a lot of other sports, hockey is a moving game. You’re always getting on and off the ice. I couldn’t play sports like baseball because it was too slow for me. I always want to be moving and not standing around, and hockey gives me that.
McKenzie takes pride in his captaincy, particularly when it comes to helping others. Part of that is carrying himself with maturity on and off the ice.
“I’m more a leader in how I play. I’ll get out there and give it 100 percent and let them follow my lead. It’s a big group effort, but it’s been working so far. I’m the kind of guy who’ll never miss a practice. Even if I’m sick or under the weather, I’ll always be there to support my team, and I’m the kind of guy people can come to for help on and off the ice. I’ve always been a good teammate to the rest of the kids on the team. I’ve grown up with them and know most of them pretty well by now.
“I love seeing big crowds come to our games,” he added. “That really gets me fired up. I’ve always enjoyed going into games. I get a little nervous, but I like to feed off the energy. You do have to tune out the crowd, naturally, but it all comes together.”
With but a handful of games remaining in the regular season as of this writing, focus will soon be cast on post-season competition. There is much excitement across the team, but the players know they cannot become overconfident due to the strength of the teams they will be facing. Mountaineer pride will be ever-present for however much time allows.
“None of us on the team have been able to experience a playoff run, but I think that would be good for us,” said McKenzie. “It would be kind of difficult now because we’re Division 1 and would be playing some tough teams, but it would be a lot of fun.
“The Wachusett jersey has meant a lot to me over the past four years. To have a ‘C’ (captain) on that jersey means a lot to me. I know lots of people come out of their way to see us play, and it’s like Wachusett is a family. It’s been great.”
