After visiting three SUNYAC schools, SUNY Potsdam, Plattsburgh State and Oswego State, Josh Nenadal knew where he wanted to play hockey. Plattsburgh State was the final visit for the three schools he was visiting, and immediately after, on the car ride home, he called head coach Ed Gosek to say he wanted to play for Oswego State.

Only 90 minutes later, Nenadal received a call from Lake Superior State University, a NCAA Div. I program in Michigan, and was given a scholarship on the spot from the new coaching staff.

Nenadal said it was the toughest choice he has made, between Lake Superior State and Oswego State, but he does not regret going to Lake Superior for his first three years of college hockey.

“Looking back, I think I would’ve given it a little more thought, and gone into a little more research into the two teams,” Nenadal said. “But regret is not really in my vocabulary.”

Originally from Brecksville, Ohio, a city with around 13,000 people, Nenadal was drafted by the Waterloo (Iowa) Black Hawks in the seventh round of the 2011 USHL Entry Draft, selected with the 95th pick of the draft. Nenadal was drafted at just 18 years old and was living nine and a half hours away from home to play junior hockey.

After one season with the Black Hawks, he was traded to the Youngstown Phantoms, a team that is based only an hour outside of Brecksville. He said it was nice having his parents at every game while with the Phantoms.

“I don’t think I was well-equipped for living away from home,” Nenadal said. “When I got to Youngstown, I figured out who I was as a player.”

In his first two years as a Laker at Lake Superior, Nenadal played 73 games registering 13 points. His junior year, however, he only played 20 games.

“That’s when I felt like it was time for me to go,” Nenadal said.

Following his junior season, Nenadal decided to leave the blue and gold Lakers. When deciding on a new school to transfer to, he remembered his conversation with Mike Montagna, a former forward with Oswego State who graduated in 2015. Montagna transferred to Oswego State from the University of Vermont. But, when it came down to it, he relied heavily on his parents for knowing who he was as a person.

Nenadal, now entering his senior year, is a green and gold Laker with the team he originally committed to.

“It isn’t a scenario we wouldn’t normally enter into had we not known him, his personality, his family,” Gosek said. “We felt that he fit it in with what we do here.”

Being a senior transfer, Nenadal has been able to connect with two ends of the spectrum of the roster. He said he relates to his fellow senior classmates, but also has bonds with the freshman class as a first-year Laker.

“It was a good way for me to get acquainted with everyone on the team,” Nenadal said.

The hockey aspect of transferring was not shocking for Nenadal. He said Oswego State could transfer with a lot of Div. I programs, but past that, there are not a lot of differences. The biggest cultural change was the size of school for Nenadal. Lake Superior has 1,200 students compared to Oswego State’s 8,000. The “culture shock,” as he called it, all started with his first day of orientation.

“I lost my car in the parking lot,” Nenadal said with a laugh. “I think I walked around in the parking lot for 20 minutes trying to find it.”

With the change from Div. I to Div. III, Gosek said that Nenadal did not come in thinking that he was going to become a goal-scorer all of a sudden. Gosek said Nenadal understood his role – a key cog on the penalty kill and a physical player overall – on the team.

“He knows his role, he knows his limitations, he knows his strength, [and] he knows when he’s at his best,” Gosek said.

But what has really meshed well is Nenadal’s personality. Known as “Nens” by the team, he can be a serious player, but he also knows when to lighten things up when they need to be.

“I wouldn’t even say it’s silly. It’s just he knows when to break the ice,” Gosek said. “He knows when to be Nens. He also knows when it’s time to be serious.”

Nenadal has nearly matched his three-year total from Lake Superior State not even one whole season with Oswego State. He has 14 points, including three-empty net goals – some of which have gone the whole 200-foot length of the ice. Despite the amount of empty-netters, he claims it is not a secret play.

“I’m sure Ed would love it to be,” Nenadal said. “Right now, I’m shooting three-for-three.”

Nenadal said the biggest key for his collegiate hockey career was patience, waiting for the right opportunity to come around. Even though he has been with Oswego State for only one year, he said he has made a couple life-long friends, including roommate Colton Fletcher, that will last longer than the friendships at Lake Superior.

Either way, whether it be blue and gold or green and gold, Nenadal is able to say he has been a Laker for four years.

“It’s pretty funny. I’ll be a Laker for life now,” Nenadal said.

Photo by Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian