National Team Development Program Player Patrick Gaul of the Pittsburgh Hornets provides insights on this year's U17 Team

Notre Dame Hockey recruit

Patarick Gaul looks forward to joining the Irish,

but has a few goals first - By John Raffel

March 2, 2007 - Special to usahockey.com

Patrick Gaul (Pittsburgh) likes to consider himself as a multi-talented athlete.
"I play pretty much every sport," said Gaul, a member of the National Team Development Program's U.S. National Under-17 Team. "Except for football. I even played lacrosse for quite awhile. I really like that sport too."

Hockey became Patrick Gaul's main love almost as soon as he was able to wear a pair of skates.
"I started at 5-years-old and I was not one of the better guys on the team. I worked hard at it," he said. "My dad pushed me to go as hard as I could. If he didn't push me, I don't know if I could be where I'm at right now.

"My dad, [Joe], has been an influence for me in hockey and my mom, [Margaret], has been an influence in everything for me." His father's long-time involvement as a hockey coach has had a great impact on Patrick and his younger brother, Joe, who has also had success in the sport.
"Patrick has always been close to his brother," their father said. "I've coached for all these years. So Patrick has been around the game from Day 1. He's a really smart player on the ice. He does so much just on instinct."

Joe Gaul recalls that his son played extensively in his youth with older players.
"It was amazing to see him do things that don't come naturally to other kids," Joe Gaul said. "His pee wee majors team made it to Nationals and that was quite a highlight. He was a runner-up at the Skills Competition. That's when we realized he was going to be pretty good."

Gaul has displayed his talents for the U17s, who have come on strong in recent weeks.
"We've learned a lot about our team," Gaul said after he and his teammates returned from a first-place effort in the Four Nations Tournament Feb. 5-10 in Piestany, Slovakia. "We're playing better as a team."

Gaul said he has made great personal strides with the NTDP since reporting to the program in September. "I've been adjusting to things," he said. "I'm focusing on what I can do to get better. Coach [John Hynes] says to keep focusing if you want to get better. I've developed a lot more in all phases of the game. My line has been good on the defensive zone and in not giving up any goals. I can also work hard to kill a lot of penalities. I'm out there to block a lot of shots. I'm out there working on a little bit of everything."

As the regular season nears its end, Gaul and the rest of his team are setting goals for the postseason. "We think we can win three-quarters of the rest of our games and get a good playoff spot [in the North American Hockey league]," he said. "When we're at our best, we can play with anyone."

Last season, the 5-foot-8, 165-pound Gaul played in 86 games for the Pittsburgh Hornets of the Midget Major AAA in the Midwest Elite Hockey League and totaled 101 points with 29 goals and 72 assists.

Gaul also captained the 2006 U.S. Under-17 Select Team at the Three Nations tournament, where he recorded five points on two goals and three assists in four games.
With Team USA's U17s, he said, "I'd like to get better on my speed and overall on my physical strength. I have good defensive awareness."

His defensive skills just came naturally for Gaul. "I played defense for the first six years in hockey life," he said. "My dad has coached for 25 years, so that helped me, too. My dad isn't exactly a hockey pro, but he learned to play when he was 8 or 9 and is a good coach."
Being with the NTDP has been a boon for the Pittsburgh native's hockey career.

"Our weight-training program here is second to none," Gaul said. "I don't think I'd be able to push myself as effectively as the way I'm pushed here."Gaul has already committed to play college hockey at Notre Dame starting with the 2008-09 season.

"Coach [Jeff] Jackson has a good history," Gaul said. "He knows how to win. The coaches there at Notre Dame are very personable. They care about you as a person as much as anyone can."

Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc.