Armstrong brings strong two-way game to Panthers blue-line
Nelson Armstrong is quiet and reserved in the dressing room, on the bus and around campus.
“When he clicks his chinstrap, it’s game on,” UPEI Panthers men’s hockey coach Forbes MacPherson said Tuesday. “All of a sudden his communication goes through the roof.”
He’s talking to his teammates on the bench or asking questions of the coaching staff.
MacPherson said Armstrong was really good in his first season with the Panthers in 2014-15, but has taken his game to another level this season.
“When you break down Armie’s game, he’s just very hard to play against. He’s a nasty defenceman,” MacPherson said.
The head coach compared Armstrong to former Panthers Matt Boyle and Harrison McIver for the intensity he brings to the team.
“They play every shift like it’s their last. You can’t teach that, it’s DNA.”
Armstrong is all business.
He played junior A in his hometown of Peterborough, Ont., in Grade 11 and 12 before going to St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., on scholarship for a year and a half.
Armstrong said things didn’t work out and he ended up going home and playing a year and a half with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes.
A UPEI alumnus, who is an NHL scout, connected Armstrong and MacPherson and the two spoke about him becoming a Panther.
“I came out to visit, really liked it and decided to come,” Armstrong said . . .
To read Jason Malloy’s full article, visit The Guardian.
