Wheeling Nailers’ Brett Stern Reaches Milestone
Defender has played in 101 straight games
WHEELING — In minor-league hockey a lot can change from one season to the next. Take Wheeling Nailers defenseman and alternate captain Brett Stern as an example.
A year ago at this time the 24-year-old was fresh out of Minnesota State Mankato, wide-eyed and trying to feel his way through his rookie season. Now he’s one of the veterans inside a Nailers locker room than has seen quite a bit of turnover from the one that was occupied by what eventually became the ECHL Eastern Conference champions.
”It’s definitely different (but) I have been in this role before in juniors and in college a couple of years,” Stern said. ”You’re an older guy wearing a letter and younger guys are looking to you for answers.
”There’s only five or six guys who returned and have been here before. But at the same time we’ve got a lot of good guys in that locker room that can step up.”
Most assuredly, Stern will be one of those showing them how to do so.
One of the lessons he can pass along is how to treat your body as a professional player. There’s nobody better to teach that subject considering the Lino Lakes, Minn., native played in all 98 Wheeling games last season. Thursday night’s 4-3 loss to Reading at WesBanco Arena was Stern’s 100th consecutive contest when combining regular and postseason action, and he added to that number Saturday in Cincinnati.
”It goes a long way in the locker room for the young guys just watching the older ones,” Stern said. ”Seeing what they do, how they act and what they eat and keeping their body hydrated.
”You can’t be throwing down McDonald’s or Taco Bell or driving through Burger King on your way home just because you’re hungry.
”I’ve been doing it and there’s a lot of guys in that locker room who have been doing it for a long time, and you’ve got to give them respect because they do it every day.”
The thing is, it’s not just the other players who take notice. Wheeling coach Jeff Christian watches with a close eye and marvels at how Stern goes about his business.
”I love that guy,” Christian said. ”He’s the kind of guy that we want. He’s a character guy, he battles hard and he competes.
”He went home this summer and put on 15 pounds of muscle. We think the world of him and that’s quite an achievement.
”I was a guy that prided myself on not missing games due to injuries and I think he takes that same kind of attitude.”
With a long postseason run that ended with a Game-6 loss to Allen in the Kelly Cup Finals, Stern didn’t get a lot of time to rest his body. But what little was afforded was refreshing.
”That was something else going home and finally being able to sit on the couch and just relax,” Stern said. ”Just yell ‘Mom, I am hungry.’
”It was such a long season coming from college where I played 40 games.”
Stern may know how many games he played collegiately, but was unaware of his milestone in Wheeling.
”It’s pretty cool and honestly I didn’t know that,” Stern said. ”When I was a rookie I would look at the sheet and say ‘holy crap,’ this guy has played 200 games.
”Now here I am in my second year and apparently I am at a hundred.
”It’s something to hang your hat on, but at the same time it flies by. It’s only a matter of time before I am at 200.”
If the Nailers have their way, it could happen this year.
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