Adrian Mendoza has scored goals and racked up points in the New England prep ranks for two seasons, but the North Yarmouth Academy star is so much more than an offensive producer.
“It doesn’t matter the sport, but if your hardest worker is also your best player and your best kid, everything else seems to fall in line,” Panther coach Mike Warde said. “That’s what Adrian is.”
Mendoza was the team’s second-leading scorer with 18 goals and 43 points a season ago.
To the coach’s surprise, the Quebec native expressed a laundry list of improvements that he wanted to make to his game despite the immediate impact that he made.
“It speaks to who he is and how driven he is because he says, ‘I want to work on everything, Coach,’ ” Warde said. “He just averaged over a point per game, had a great first season, living in the U.S., but yeah, he goes, ‘I’ve got to work on my foot speed, I’ve got to work on my shot, hockey IQ. I think he’s come back even more driven.”
Mendoza particularly focused on improving his strength after going through his first season of prep hockey.
He spent plenty of time on the ice and in the weight room, but he wasn’t just training and conditioning in ordinary ways. He also turned to a hobby that he picked up a couple of years ago: boxing.
“Boxing has also had an impact on me, boosting my confidence even more and also [helping me] not be scared of anything,” Mendoza said. “I didn’t really want to do it at first, but my dad kind of put me into it…and I fell in love with it. It helped me gain confidence because I was used to dodging hits or using fakes to get around people.”
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As a result, Mendoza isn’t just tougher and more driven to succeed. That added confidence from his hard work has led to more production on the ice.
The 5-foot-8 forward ranks third among all players in New England with 62 points in 28 games.
“I’ve been practicing my shot a lot and I’ve used that now,” Mendoza said. “And speed is a really big factor in my game. I’m a small guy, so I need to use my speed and shiftiness to get around other players.”
Those certainly aren’t his only strengths. From Warde’s perspective, there is plenty that next-level coaches can see.
“His hockey sense is outstanding,” Warde said. “Even when he’s playing defense or we don’t have the puck, he anticipates what the play is going to be and where he should be. A lot of skilled players are out of place when they don’t have the puck on their stick, but he understands the game that well.”
The individual success is nice, but Mendoza is all about the team.
He’s focused on helping the Panthers finish their Holt Conference regular season strong and being a leader through the rest of his final prep go-around. They have one more game against Pingree on Friday.
“I love my team,” he said. “We have a really great bond. Even the younger kids, we’re all very close. That’s really important for me: being a role model to those other players and guiding them. We’ve got a good rhythm going and I think we have a great chance this year.”
Warde sees his Panthers taking the look of a “traditional prep school team,” generally with his most experienced players leading the way up front, followed by juniors, sophomores and freshmen “that are trying to find their way” in the prep world.
Nobody has been more important to the development of the group than Mendoza, who is a quiet but powerful leader on and off the ice.
“He settles everything down,” Warde said. “He’s the first guy you want over the boards on a power play or killing a penalty.”
And everyone is realizing it.
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“We had a road game at Worcester Academy [last month] and I was talking with an alum, [Richard Samuelson], who actually played basketball at UMass with Dr. J [Julius Irving]. He’s a quick study, understands sports. He said, ‘(Adrian) is like a wonderful point guard’ because you can allow his creativity to take over.
“That’s exactly what he is.”
