Nick’s Audio Interview:
Coming from Glenview, Illinois, Team President, Assistant Captain and defenseman, Nick Ustaski started playing hockey at the age of three when his mom dragged him and his younger brother to the local ice rink to learn how to skate. “From what I remember, I just kind of enjoyed falling down and running around out there. It was a good time, but yeah I guess when they put a stick in your hand and you start learning, it’s fun.” Nick was influenced by his paternal grandfather who was an amateur speed skater back in the day. Being from Illinois, Nick is a diehard Chicago Blackhawks fan. Some NHL players that he looks up to are Brent Seabrook, a Chicago Blackhawks defenseman, and Andrew Ladd, a left wing for the Winnipeg Jets.
He transferred to UD as a sophomore from a smaller school in Wisconsin. Nick is a History and Foreign Languages Literatures double major, with concentrations on American History and Latin and Greek civilization and language, has a minor in Legal Studies, and plans on going to law school in the fall. Nick went to Lake Forest Academy, a prep school in Illinois, and while he was there, he was being recruited to play hockey at different colleges. When it came down to the wire, Nick was between Lawrence University, his previous school, UD, and two others. He chose Lawrence, but he just didn’t feel right there. He sent an email to the former coaches at Delaware to ask them about making a move here, and it worked out. “The first day I ever walked in here coming in as a transfer, and I saw the rink, and I was like ‘Wow, this rink is something else.’” After joining the Blue Hens, Nick thinks that every day is a good day with his team. As a team, he believes that their biggest rival is Rhode Island, but for him individually, it’s Stony Brook University. One of his best memories here was scoring his first goal as a UD player off a slap shot against Stony Brook.
Nick’s role on the team is very important. As President, he manages the student interns, takes care of promotional nights at the Rust, organizes charity events, and is the school liaison, meaning if the school needed to communicate something to the team, Nick is the point of communication for them. He said it was a lot of work, but he believes that everything went well. As an assistant captain on the team, he helps with the daily operations of the team and is looked up to lead the team on the ice. He thinks that he along with the other captains, Leo Skehan and John Redgate, they need to represent the letters on their jerseys by acting in a certain way, “they’re there for a reason.”
Nick’s final words for the team and future Blue Hen hockey players to come is to, “Enjoy it, and work at it while you can because [the end] comes up real quick.”
20 Questions:
- Cats or dogs? Both
- Pizza or ice cream? Ice Cream
- Kate’s or Grottos? “I’m a Kate’s man.”
- If you could only bring three things to an island, what would they be? “Some sort of entertainment, like a baseball or something to pass the time, definitely a book, and probably another person, that would be nice so I’m not by myself.”
- If you could choose to sing one song on American Idol, what would it be? “I would probably want to make a fool of myself if I was on American Idol, so Stayin’ Alive.”
- If your life were made into a movie, who would play you? Chris Farley or John Candy
- You’re a new Crayola crayon color, what’s your name? Pulurple
- Favorite throwback song? 90’s rock, Metallica
- What’s your favorite Disney princess? Belle
- Which came first, the chicken or the egg? “The egg, duh.”
- Pepsi or Coke? Pepsi
- Most embarrassing moment ever? Getting rejected to my junior prom.
- If you could have any superpower, what would it be? A rock man or something like the Fantastic Four
- Favorite Kardashian? Kourtney
- Fallon or Kimmel? “Jimmy Fallon, just because he was in Taxi.”
- Dream vacation spot? Rome, Italy
- SpongeBob or Patrick? SpongeBob
- If you could choose to swap lives with any celebrity, who would it be? Leonardo DiCaprio, he’s got a pretty sweet life. Either him or a comedy man like Dan Aykroyd.”
- Is it a great day to be a Blue Hen? “When isn’t it a great day to be a Blue Hen? What is a Blue Hen? That’s the bigger question.”
- Ready to graduate or no? “I’ve seen it all in undergrad, so I think yeah, I think I’m ready to move on. But, I’m going to enjoy the last couple of weeks while I can.”
Written By: Analisa Vizzoni and Tyler Fitzpatrick
