Freshman Friday is a Q-and-A feature with new members of the men's hockey team. This is the second of nine installments this year, featuring forward Matthew Stienburg.

Q: So you've been here a couple months now, what do you think of everything so far?
A:  It's a lot of fun. The mix between academics and hockey it's something that I'm kind of used to now, going to school at St. Andrew's, but it's also kind of in all aspects a little bit of a step up. It's been a bit of an adjustment. But, so far, it's been great.

Q: Having gone the prep school route, this is kind of the point – prepping you for a university, right? How your time at St. Andrew's and how much did you lean on fellow SAC alum Morgan Barron and Matthew Galajda in learning about Cornell?
A: St. Andrew's was great for me, because of the combination of school and hockey. Specifically about the hockey aspect, the player development – individually and as a team – it's a really good balance. We obviously focused a lot on developing individual players, but the success of the team and the program kind of speaks for itself. With Matt and Morgan, a lot of the information from them helped a lot. Then over the course of the summer, I talked to them about classes and what to expect as everything comes closer. Obviously, those guys were great resources to have. Coming here, it made everything a lot easier.

Q: How much time did you spend on campus? Did you get the official visit and the whole nine yards?
A: We played two games here during my Grade 11 year (in January 2018). We came on a Friday for a game against Colgate, so I kind of got that experience here. Then we went to the game against Colgate at Colgate the next day, so I think that was a good way for me to compare two schools, but also to get the whole experience here. Being at Lynah Rink for a game and to experience that was a big selling factor for me. Then talking to the guys and getting the campus tour kind of sealed that.

Q: Where were you in the whole recruiting process at that point?
A: My whole recruiting process just started that Grade 11 year. But when we came here, I think I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to end up and the types of schools that I was looking at. Obviously, Cornell was in there and ended up being my final choice. That was kind of when it all started, and then that was also as I getting to when I was close to making my decision. It kind of happened all in one year. It happened pretty quick for me.

Q: We're talked about the St. Andrew's connection, but there's also the Halifax pipeline that we apparently have now, too. I know Halifax is a decent-sized city and all, but did you know the Barron or Bauld families or either of those guys before you came here?
A: I knew Morgan really well. Our families are close. I actually played with his younger brother, Justin, a lot growing up, and I worked out with him during the last however-many years since we were young. So that was a really good connection. And I knew Noah just from watching him play. He's about three years older than me, so I never really knew him too well until the last couple of summers when I started to skate with him. But growing up, I always knew who he was and obviously he was as good as there was in Nova Scotia for hockey players. So he is someone who you could say that I looked up to. And once you get to meet him as a person, he's an even better guy. Those were two people that I looked up to.

Q: In that area of the world, it's pretty much all about major juniors. So having two guys like that from your hometown and playing at Cornell, did that resonate with you a little bit as this route being an option for you?
A: I wouldn't say that I've always been a college guy, but kind of being an undersized kid growing up, I wasn't a very high pick in the QMJHL amateur draft. So once the prep school option opened up, I went there and I never really thought twice about it. I know there are a few guys from Nova Scotia my age that I'm close with that play in the NCAA now. Like you said, as the years have gone on, it's become more of a route that guys have gone and I think that guys like Noah Bauld started that trend. Now, for kids my age, it's not really out of the norm to come this way.

Q: You lost almost an entire year at the midget level because of osteomyelitis, which seemed intense. Was that the specific timing to when you decided the NCAA was your route?
A: I was always undersized, but I guess that's also more specific. Getting sick during my draft year to the Q – I think I played only 10 or 15 games that year – that, mixed with being undersized held me back. But it also gave me the opportunity to play another year of midget hockey and develop. It opened me up to the prep school route and eventually the college route.

Q: It's impossible to also overlook the fact that your father is a university coach for more than 20 years at St. Mary's. But he also had his own experience in major juniors before his professional career. Was he weighing in on this, or was he hands-off?
A: He defeintely left it all up to me. Obviously, I talked to him and kind of learned from him about his experiences. It's nothing against major junior – he had nothing but good things to say about that – it was just that the actual school that came with going the college route (was a big factor). Cornell is an Ivy League school, so that emphasized that even more. It just seemed that everything was the right fit – the college route; Cornell; being undersized and a late-bloomer; the extra time to develop and the school. All of that. It just seemed right. Either way, he was going to support me. But I think we both knew it was the right decision.

Q: You're probably too modest to say it, but I will – you undoubtedly had no shortage of NCAA options, in and outside the Ivy League. So why Cornell over, say, another Ivy? What was it about here that really stood out?
A: It was a lot to do with the culture of the program and just the atmosphere and the passion. Anywhere I went in the Ivy League, I was going to get a good team and an amazing education. So, honestly, all of that was a toss-up. But I guess the main thing was coming here and seeing the energy and passion around the team and then within the team. And then there's the coach. I think I fit the role that we play as a team. I'm kind of a power forward, a bit of the old-school style. It just seemed right and comfortable that this was the spot and that this was the most exciting place to play.

Q: So with after wrap up that whole process, you have the experience of being taken by the Colorado Avalanche in the third round of the NHL draft last summer. What was that whole thing like for you?
A: That was obviously a lot of fun and definitely a day that I, and my family, won't forget. There were kind of a lot of questions going in – where I was going to go? Was I even going to get drafted? Playing prep school, I think it's a little unconventional for a draft-eligible player, so scouts aren't as familiar with it. It's tough to compare that to major juniors. I kind of went into it not expecting too much and to just take in the entire day. Obviously, to hear your name called – no matter where it is – was very exciting. Like I said, it's something that I won't forget.

Q: I think I read somewhere that you didn't immediately connect that the Avalanche is technically the organization that you dad played for, is that right? (Editor's note: Matthew's father, Trevor, played for the Québec Nordiques prior to their move to Denver in 1995).
A: I didn't, actually. I think it was in one of the interviews I got asked about it. I took a second, and it all clicked that this was the team he was drafted by and it was the same thing for him. Your first reaction isn't that – it's more 'wow, it kind of happened, that's my name, it's your time to go up.' But once that did connect, it was extra special.

Q: And he actually played with (Colorado Avalanche executive vice president and general manager) Joe Sakic, too, right?
A: Yeah, I know that they probably hadn't talked since they played together. But I remember there is a picture of me at an international pee wee tournament getting an autograph from Joe Sakic. I remember that was something that when I texted my dad when I was there and said 'just met Joe Sakic,; I obviously knew that they played together. To have that picture then see me going to shake his hand on the draft floor was something that was pretty cool to look back on.

Q: What are you studying here?
A: I'm in the hotel school.

Q: After hockey, what do you hope to do with it?
A: Hockey is what we all come here to do and look to pursue. But I think coming here – the education, the business degree I get through the hotel school, and specifically the hospitality part – it's something that I was pretty interested in. I don't have a specific thing that I want to do I guess, but coming here, the network and the connections that you make set you up to find a job and eventually find something that you enjoy to do the rest of your life.

Q: Getting closer to your debut, so I'm sure fans are curious – as a player, who do you most resemble?
A: It's tough to say. I get a lot of different comparisons. But for me, someone like a Josh Anderson (from the Columbus Blue Jackets) is something that I think about. A big physical winger who can play on the offensive side of the puck. Obviously, his size is something that I'm still working and growing toward. But overall, the mentality I would see as pretty similar.

Freshman Friday

•  Oct. 24: Sam Malinski
•  Oct. 31: Matthew Stienburg