Stankievech a Rhodes on ice

Before Nassau Street was dressed up in festive blue-and-white, old-fashioned-holiday-in-Princeton finery for shopping season, a series of banners advertising University athletics lined its lampposts, each portraying a Tiger athlete in action. One such banner, depicting a men's hockey player, could be considered the quintessential Princeton sports photograph.

The player, number 10, is celebrating a goal, with a slight fist pump and a half-smile. He's poised, confident and triumphant, yet humble, a gracious victor. He's senior forward Landis Stankievech, and, since last week, he also happens to be a Rhodes Scholar.

"In a way, it was a shock," Stankievech said of being recently named one of 11 Canadian winners of the prestigious scholarship. "I thought I was a good candidate, but there were a lot of good candidates out there. It took a while for it to sink in. Maybe it still hasn't. But I was pretty excited."

Stankievech, from the tiny town of Trochu, Alberta, is the first Tiger athlete to win the award since Jeff Miller '06 (JV basketball) and just the second ice hockey player, after Michael Spence '66.

Senior defenseman Mike Moore called the reward well deserved and said that he and his teammates were glad to see Stankievech gain recognition for his efforts.

"Any one of us who was in any of his classes knew how hard he worked in the classroom," Moore said. "If anyone on the team ever has any academic questions, they turn to him. He always takes the time to help out his teammates."

Clearly, Stankievech can hold his own academically; his laundry list of academic honors includes two Shapiro Prizes, the Manfred Pyka Memorial Physics Prize, two Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference All-Academic team selections and a District II Academic All-America nod — but he's also been known to play some pretty good puck. Though he has missed some time this year due to injury, he has played in nearly all of the team's games since his freshman campaign and scored five goals last season. Senior forward Keith Shattenkirk said Stankievech, especially with his tremendous attention to details, is an asset to the team.

"[Stankievech] is a player we can rely on to get the job done, whether it's winning a big face-off late in the game or killing a crucial penalty," Shattenkirk said. "He has the skill to score big goals and get the team going when needed. I've played on his line for a long time, and he makes my job easier."

Incredibly, Stankievech received just one minor two-minute penalty in 32 games last season, thus earning himself a reputation as a player who doesn't get involved with the chippy stuff or the trash talk. Shattenkirk offered a humorous possible explanation for Stankievech's squeaky-clean on-ice etiquette.

"[Stankievech] told me a story about the one time he decided to 'trash talk' an opposing player, only to have the player beat him off the face-off, skate down the ice and score the game-winning goal immediately after. Since then, he has only opened his mouth to talk to the players on his team," Shattenkirk said.

Moore said that Stankievech motivates his teammates with his unquestionable work ethic and competitive nature.

"Despite his friendly and charitable character off the ice, he is a fierce competitor on the ice and is always dependable to battle for a loose puck or block a shot," Moore said. "He is respected by his teammates for his unwavering commitment to everything he takes on."

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"Commitment" is a word that comes up often when talking about Stankievech and for good reason, according to head coach Guy Gadowsky.

"With Landis, he either is or he isn't," Gadowsky said. "If he's going to do something, he does it absolutely 100 percent. If he's committed to something, he'll do everything, and I mean everything, to make himself better in that area."

That includes studying philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford for the mechanical and aerospace engineering major. Of course, Stankievech doesn't plan on giving up hockey just because he will be participating in one of the most rigorous courses of study in the world.

"I've looked at the website for Oxford's team, and so that will probably be the best option [for continuing with hockey], although I don't think it will be at the level of NCAA hockey," Stankievech said. "After Oxford, I will see if I have any opportunities to play in Europe for a year or two and maybe learn a foreign language or something."

Beyond that, he said, he would seriously consider playing pro at an elite level, either in the National Hockey League or the American Hockey League, if the opportunity arose.

For now, though, Stankievech will focus on helping out his current team, while enduring the good-natured ribbing he's been taking from his teammates on account of his latest accolade, exemplified by a recent incident at practice.

"Believing a Rhodes Scholar would be able to follow a basic hockey drill normally accomplished by simpleminded hockey players, Landis was selected as first up [to complete the drill]," Moore said. "It was a disaster, and the whole drill had to be stopped and started again with someone else who knew what they were doing. A lot of 'Not perfect!' comments were thrown out, but of course, being the humble guy that he is, Landis just shrugged it off and said, 'With any high, you eventually get a low.' "

And what a high, indeed, for the poster child of Princeton athletics.