New Kensington native helps Penguins Elite U-18 team win national title
David Nee was content playing for the Philadelphia Junior Flyers amateur hockey team, but when he had a chance to come home and play for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 18-Under team, he couldn't pass it up.
Wearing a black and gold sweater modeled after the Penguins', it was a dream come true for the New Kensington native. But the dreaming didn't stop there.
Nee was a part of history last week when Penguins Elite won the USA Hockey Tier I National Championship for the first time in San Jose, Calif. Penguins Elite shut out third-ranked Culver Academy (Ind.), 3-0, in the final.
It's the first time a team from Pittsburgh won an 18-and-under USA Hockey National title, which is the top amateur championship in the country.
“It was the craziest thing. I was speechless the whole time,” Nee said of winning a national championship. “I mean, I really didn't know what to say.”
Nee, 17, played half a season in Philadelphia before transferring to Pittsburgh. He attended St. Joseph last year but moved to Philadelphia, and with the amount of travel required for hockey, he is taking classes on the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School for his junior year.
In the six-game national tournament, Nee, a defenseman, had a goal and three assists. He had nine assists in 25 games with Pittsburgh during the regular season. Nee, who considers himself an offensive defenseman, said he would like to pattern his game after Penguins defenseman Kris Letang.
Penguins Elite, which is comprised mainly of players from Western Pennsylvania, faced teams from Chicago, San Jose, Cape Cod, New Jersey and Minnesota before the finals. Pittsburgh dropped its first game before rattling off five straight victories.
Pittsburgh knocked off top-ranked Shattuck-St. Mary's, 3-2, in round-robin play. Shattuck-St. Mary's has produced 63 NHL draft picks, including Penguins star Sidney Crosby, Chicago's Jonathan Toews, Minnesota's Zach Parise and Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon.
“We knew what we were up against, but we had the right group of kids,” Nee said. “We work really well together, and we have good chemistry. We knew what were capable of.
“We went out and beat the best.”
Nee is a cousin of Highlands senior basketball player Jamison Nee, who helped lead the Golden Rams to the WPIAL Class AAA basketball finals. David said he and Jamison are “like brothers who motivate each other.”
The tryout process for Penguins Elite's 2016-17 season is already under way, and Nee hopes to return. He'd like to play Tier I junior hockey after high school.
Arrows on point
Another team with Alle-Kiski Valley ties fared well in a national tournament.
The Armstrong Arrows placed second in the USA Hockey 16-Under Tier II, 2A finals in New Jersey, losing to top-seeded Maine Moose, 7-4, in the final.
Dominic Bussard, a junior at Valley, played on the team, along with Freeport's Greg Smith, Ben Drzemiecki, Slade Ohl and James Grassinger.
Bussard, a defenseman, said he enjoyed the run.
“It was one of the best experiences of hockey in my life. I've been playing hockey for 10 years, and this is the first time I've played in nationals,” said Bussard, who wears No. 7 to signify the age he started playing hockey.
The Arrows played teams from Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Ohio, and Texas at nationals.
Armstrong trailed Maine, 7-1, after two periods in the championship. Bussard said he was proud of the way the team finished, scoring three goals in the third. It was Bussard's final game with Armstrong because of age restrictions. He is looking at his options for next season.
“It was our last game together, so emotions were running high,” Bussard said. “We made a good comeback and finished respectably.”
Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.
