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Prospect Watch Only fitting that Bubba plays for a Nashville farm team
Updated: Friday January 12, 2001 12:55 AM
By Josh Goldfine, special to CNNSI.com Bubba Berenzweig is no stranger to winning, having been a part of two national titles during his time at the University of Michigan. So, this season has been a bit trying on the 23-year-old defenseman, whose Milwaukee Admirals are 15-20-2 in the International Hockey League's Eastern Division. However, this weekend, Berenzweig will get a chance to show his skills in his hometown of Chicago, having been elected an All-Star starter. The thing that first catches people's attention about Berenzweig is his interesting nickname, which dates back to the time when he could barely walk. "It was from my uncle in Texas," he said. "I was two years old, and I was a big kid. I used to run around and do a bunch of stupid things, like jumping in my uncle's pool when nobody was watching. I couldn't swim, so someone always had to jump in and help me out." During his hockey career, it has been Berenzweig doing most of the helping. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound defenseman, who leads Admiral defensemen with 15 points in 29 games, always has been a force on the offensive end of the ice. "He was a dominant high school player," recalls Michigan head coach Red Berenson, who first saw Berenzweig play at a hockey tournament in Boston back in the mid-90s. "He was such a good skater and an explosive defenseman. In terms of talent, Bubba was right there with [Bryan] Berard [the first pick in the '95 NHL draft]." Berenzweig's first two years in Ann Arbor were an exercise in frustration. A potent offensive force in prep school, Berenzweig no longer had the same free-wheeling authority on the collegiate level and took a back seat to Brendan Morrison and a talented crew of upperclassmen in riding the wave to a national title. Berenson maintains that the young defender needed to understand how to become a complete player at both ends of the ice. "He needed to learn the game at [the college] level," said Berenson. "He really didn't have any respect for the defensive part of the game." Berenzweig improved steadily. By the time his junior season came around, it was obvious that he had become a more complete player. "That second half of my junior year was my best stretch," said Berenzweig. "I felt like I had something to prove. Berenzweig would go on to be part of another national title team in 1998 and captured Michigan's Vic Heyliger Trophy, awarded to the team's outstanding defenseman, in each of his final two seasons. As frustrating as Berenzweig's early collegiate days were, his first experience with the professional game only seemed all too familiar. Selected in the fifth round of the 1996 draft by the New York Islanders, Berenzweig never got a chance to play on Long Island and was dealt away to the expansion Nashville Predators in April, 1999 for a fourth-round draft choice. Berenzweig feels no lost love for Mike Milbury's organization. "I never really felt a part of the Islanders," he said. "A nutritionist used to call me sometimes to make sure I was eating right, but that was about it. Milbury just never liked me as a player, but I don't think he even saw me play. "I was ecstatic to be going to Nashville," Berenzweig said. "It was an expansion team, and I had a chance to play. I was quite surprised when I got there because it's a small city. It was a real culture shock for me." Berenzweig spent most of the past season in Milwaukee and put up 27 points (four goals, 23 assists), second among Admirals' defensemen and IHL rookies , and was named the IHL's McKenzie Award winner as the top US-born rookie in the league. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Berenzweig also appeared in two Predator games late in the season before rejoining Milwaukee for the Admirals' brief playoff run. Berenzweig, who appeared in five games for the Predators earlier this season and was named the IHL's Defenseman of the Month for October, has taken his game to a new level this year. "He is part of the new wave of scoring in the NHL," said Milwaukee coach Dave Allison. "His ability to lead a rush is as good as anybody's." Asked when we may see Berenzweig in Nashville on a permanent basis, Allison said, "There is no time table for the NHL. It's all about when a need arises."
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