In the Spotlight
Dec. 14, 2000
By P.J. Slinger
Steve Cygan is arguably the fastest skater in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, perhaps the nation.
He's also arguably the smallest.
At 5-foot-6, 145 pounds, only a couple of players in the league have smaller frames than the University of Alaska Anchorage's junior forward, and they are all goalies.
Wait, this just in: Cygan says he tips the scales at 153 pounds, not 145. "I'll take every pound I can," he said, jokingly. "I've always been the little guy, but I've always been the fastest, too, and my speed is the reason I've been able to excel. Speed makes you dangerous on the ice."
And that's why UAA coach Dean Talafous was immediately enamored with the kid who grew up in the Chicago area.
"I saw Steve play one period on videotape and said, `Wow, if he's still available, let's get him.' That tape was the first time I'd seen him, playing in the Buck Bowl for the United States Hockey League teams. Other coaches were waiting on him because he's so small, but once I saw him, it was like `Man, if we get that kid, we'll be doing ourselves a favor.' So that was it."
And don't think Cygan doesn't appreciate being given that chance by UAA. "My hat's off to Dean Talafous because he aggressively pursued me when others didn't. I had a tough time finding a coach that wanted to give a guy of my size a chance."
So now Talafous and the Seawolves are reaping the fortunate circumstances that led Cygan to Anchorage.
"I knew he could play, I just didn't know that he would be such a great leader, too. And that's all his own doing. He works very hard. He's one of the real dynamic players in the league. Steve excites people when he's on the ice. Those little guys that are fast and who love to battle _ you gotta love 'em."
In nearly two-and-a-half seasons at UAA, Cygan has 31 goals and 24 assists. This season he again is leading the team (thru 14 games as of Dec. 12) in goals with five and points with 10. Last year he was the team leader in goals (14) and points (27) and his freshman year he was tied for the team lead in goals (12) and tied for second on the team in points (18).
"If anything, I consider myself an offensive player," Cygan said. "I'm consistently thinking `score, score, score.' I always want to be the go-to guy."
He's been a proficient scorer all his life, with the exception of his first year playing organized hockey as a mite in Oak Park, Ill. That season he had just one goal.
But after a summer at a power skating camp at age six, he came back for his second year of mites as an incredibly improved player. "I scored seven points in the first game," he said. "My skills were just so much better."
And that was just the beginning.
As a junior in high school, Cygan's team was 24-0-1 until losing in the Illinois state championship game. That year he had 84 points in 23 games. "That's when I felt I could play college hockey," Cygan said.
But others didn't, at least not for the upper echelon programs.
"I didn't make any national teams because of my size, and people told me I should play Division III," he said. "But the whole time I believed I could play at the Division I level."
And so he set out to prove it. After high school, Cygan played in Wyoming for three years for the Casper Wranglers, a Frontier League team. In his final season there he had 110 points and then was taken first overall in the United States Hockey League draft by the Sioux City Musketeers.
After one year at Sioux City, it was time for college, and Alaska-Anchorage.
"Steve has made a name for himself," Talafous said. "It's great when somebody like this slips through the recruiting net, but it doesn't happen very often because these kids are looked at and checked over and over by all the coaches."
Even though Cygan's dream of playing Division I hockey was coming true, it was still an uneasy time for Cygan, leaving the continental United States to play in Anchorage.
"Originally I had mixed feelings about going up to Alaska," he said. "But since then I have fallen in love with Alaska and the school and I'm proud to be here. The only thing is that it's so far from home. But I hadn't lived at home for the four years before that either, so it wasn't that hard for me or my parents (Stan and Kathy) to handle."
And as for the ability to play at the Division level?
"Actually the transition to college hockey was pretty simple for me," he said. "I have the speed to play the college game and that's where the biggest adjustment is for a lot of guys."
As a freshman for the Seawolves, Cygan led the WCHA and had a school-record five game-winning goals and was selected to the All-WCHA Rookie Team. During this past summer, he played with the WCHA All-Star Team during the team's trip to Norway.
Talafous said he never doubted Cygan's ability.
"Steve is definitely one of our leaders, just by his presence on the ice," Talafous said. "He hasn't had a bad game since he's been here with us. He creates so many opportunities, and other teams always want to keep an eye on him, that it maybe allows other players to do some things." Talafous said it's wonderful when UAA can get a recruit like Cygan. "We just hope that other schools leave a few of the Steve Cygans behind for us," he said.
Previous Spotlights
Nov. 29 - Wisconsin's Jeff Dessner
Dec. 5 - Minnesota's Erik Westrum
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