Colony senior loaded with talent

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Frontiersman sports editor

PALMER - There's only one question Colony High School head hockey coach Dale Mattson can not answer about the play of his star senior forward Ryan Pauling.

Compared to the top players in the state, does Pauling have a weakness?

When asked that question, Mattson took a moment to think. He stared out onto the ice. The same sheet of ice where Pauling had just scored two goals in a 3-1 win over Wasilla, showing why he's considered by most to be the top player in the Mat-Su Valley, and one of the best in the state

&#8220You, know I can't think of one,” a blunt Mattson said.

Mattson couldn't come up with a weakness, but easily listed a variety of strengths.

&#8220He's an all-around player,” Mattson said. &#8220When you need him to be physical he's physical. He sees the ice really well. He's a play maker.”

And the list goes on.

Mattson said there are two big reasons why Pauling can separate himself from much of the talent at this level in Alaska.

&#8220He can accelerate in a couple of strides faster than anyone in the Valley. He can just explode out of the corner with the puck,” Mattson said. &#8220Secondly, he can go into the corner with three guys and come out with the puck. He's really good in tight spaces.”

Plus it doesn't hurt that Pauling has the hardest slapshot on the Knights squad.

For the last four years, Pauling has stood out for the Knights. Even as a freshman, Pauling had the size and skill to significantly contribute.

&#8220He had a four-goal game in his freshman year. We knew then he was a player to contend with,” Mattson said.

Pauling had 14 goals and 13 assists as a freshman, and his point totals have increased every year. Now Pauling is within reach of the program records for most points in both a season and career. As of Thursday, Pauling already had put up 51 points this season (25 goals and 26 assists), and the Knights still have six regular season games left this year. He needs 13 points to tie former Knight Seth Reda's record of mark of 64.

Mattson said the statistics also show what type of player Pauling is.

&#8220If you look at his stats, he usually gets the same amount of assists as goals,” Mattson said. &#8220He doesn't hoard the puck. He passes the puck, and makes plays.”

Last season he had 22 goals and 22 assists. He finished his sophomore season with 15 goals and 15 assists. Pauling has 76 goals and 76 assists in his career.

&#8220He sees the ice really well,” Mattson said. &#8220He's always looking for that open guy or the net.”

Pauling has been skating on the rinks of the Valley since he was about four. It wasn't really a family sport for the Paulings, he said. Both of his parents played basketball growing up. But something about the sport drew up to the ice. He said mere competition attracts him to sports. He also plays baseball at Colony, and was on the football team for a year. But hockey is still high above everything else on the list.

As Pauling's high school career is coming to a close, he is already thinking of his future in hockey.

&#8220I'd like to play juniors first, and see if I can be picked up by a college later,” Pauling said.

Since Mattson has been involved with the Knights program, both as the head coach and an assistant to former Colony head coach Eric Troisi, the Knights have produced a handful of college players. Reda went on to play in the North American Hockey League and is now at the Division III level with the University of Wisconsin-Superior. A pair of defenseman, Jake Luthi and Nathan Schwartzbauer, are now at the Division I ranks. Luthi's a blueliner at Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, while Schwartz-bauer is a defenseman at Bemidji State. A decade ago, defenseman Nathan Borega went from Colony to the University of Notre Dame, and ultimately to the professional level. Mattson said Pauling fits right in that class.

There are not too many players that he has coached that Mattson thought could make it to the next level, Mattson said, but Pauling is certainly one of them.

Pauling has also skated in the Eagle River Mustangs competitive hockey program, for the last three years and is now on the Mustangs U-18 AAA midget team. With the Mustangs, he has had the opportunity to play with, and against, the best skaters in the state, and travel to tournaments across North America. Over the holiday break Pauling and the Mustangs competed in a tournament in British Columbia. The experience at that level has been a great benefit, he said.

Former University of Minnesota and Anchorage Aces standout Steve MacSwain is also helping Pauling find a spot on the roster of a Junior A squad next season. Pauling said he's been told that playing for the Wasilla Spirit may be an opportunity, and that's something he'd be interested in.

&#8220Hometown kid playing for the Spirit seems pretty nice,” Pauling said.