Meet the Newcomers: Maggie Nicholson
8/6/2020 10:08:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Maggie Nicholson joins the Gophers as a left-handed freshman defense from Minnetonka High School.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Golden Gopher women's hockey team welcomes eight newcomers to the team for the 2020-21 season, including Maggie Nicholson, a left-handed freshman defense from Minnetonka, Minn., and Minnetonka High School. Nicholson shares how she got into hockey, how she chose the University of Minnesota, what Gopher alumna was her hockey role model, and more.
Gopher Sports: How did you first get into hockey?
Maggie Nicholson: I first got into hockey when I saw my cousin play. She started at a young age as well, and she ended up playing at Bethel University for a while. I originally play with the boys until my freshman year in high school. I went to Hopkins at first, and I remember the day when we got a flyer, just like a general Hopkins hockey flyer in the mail, encouraging people to sign up for the league. I remember my parents asking me if that was something that I'd be interested in, and I decided I wanted to try it out. From there, everything just snowballed at that point.
GS: Did you play any other sports when you were growing up?
MN: I used to play softball. My dad played softball for a long time, so he always liked to coach me in that, but I just narrowed it down to hockey once high school started.
GS: What's your earliest hockey memory?
MN: For the longest time when I was younger, I would always have my dad tie my skates. I remember we would skate early in the morning, and it was like winter time so we would get up to go skate on the open ice. It was like six or seven in the morning, and I would always ask him to tie my skates tighter. I would have them suffocating my feet.
GS: When did you realize that playing at the Division I level was a realistic possibility for you?
MN: I had a lot of coaches talk to me about it as I was going into high school, but I didn't really know if it would happen for me. I guess going into my freshman year was when talking to college coaches started, and that's when I realized it was a real thing. Once I committed, it was so surreal. Now it feels like three years later, I'm actually going to do what I planned all the way back in freshman year, and it's cool that it's happening right now.
GS: Were you a Gopher fan growing up? How did you choose Minnesota?
MN: Well, I grew up a North Dakota fan. I don't know if I should say this, but I remember the year that the Gophers were on that insane 60-game winning streak, and they lost to the Fighting Sioux at the time. I have a picture of my friend and me wearing our North Dakota jerseys with Goldy covering up our faces at that game. Thinking back to that, wow the times have changed! Going to Minnesota just seems like just the right thing. In Minnesota, our hockey is such a community already with how unique it is compared to all the other states, so it just felt right in my stomach when I was going through the process.
GS: What's your family like?
MN: We've always been a super close family. We're definitely a hockey family. My cousins have played hockey. My dad was definitely my toughest critic growing up, but it pushed me to be the player I am today. We were just talking about that, actually. There was one thing that will always stick with me. I had a boys game, and this makes him sound so bad but I swear he's the nicest person ever, but he told me that when I was on the ice, it was like we were on a penalty kill. They've always pushed me. Our family motto is that if you're going to do it, do it right it. I've kind of always stuck by that in whatever I'm doing, whether it's with school or hockey or going to a practice and not wasting your time there, and actually applying yourself lot. That has guided me so much in life.
GS: What was your high school hockey experience like?
MN: It was really good. I grew up playing at Hopkins, and I made a transition over to Minnetonka in middle school. We had a coaching change go into place my senior year, but I went to a bunch of camps that the previous coaches put on and we had such a great relationship. They really helped me out so much in my career on the ice but also off the ice. We had such a great team, especially my past two years. We made it to the state tournament twice. It was kind-of funny, my junior year was the first time that Tonka has been to the state tournament since we won the three-peat, so that was cool. Minnetonka is a really close community too, so just it was awesome. The atmosphere was always great at the games as well.
GS: Do you have a hockey role model?
MN: Growing up, I was a huge fan and looked up to Becky Kortum a lot. She went to Hopkins as well and at the time I was a super fan. I remember when I was younger I had one of her player cards that they did at Hopkins. She signed it for me, and I thought she was the coolest person ever. She went to the Gophers as well. I looked up to her a lot growing up, and I'd say she's probably my biggest role model.
GS: Do you know what you want to major in or what career path you want to pursue?
MN: I'm going to do Business and Marketing. We have a family company, and I'm going to probably work there after college. My dad started it before I was even born, so I'll follow in the family footsteps. He makes products for snowmobiles, and then he also has a label printing business.
GS: Was there anything about business operations that really drew you in?
MN: It's kind-of unique, and I know a lot of my dad's close friends that he does business with, so I want to be a part of that. It just started off as a smaller, homemade thing. We used to have a garage at our old house in the back where he would have his presses and all of the stuff to make the products. Now we're actually moving to a bigger factory building, and it's kind of crazy to see it all coming together and thinking that I'll be there in less than five years.
GS: What has been your USA Hockey experience been like? How has that helped you develop, and what stands out about that experience?
MN: It was very stressful at the beginning. Hockey in Minnesota is one thing, but you start to branch out to playing with girls from other states and different styles, too. I think Minnesota has a pretty distinct style with our hockey. When I went to my first camp, I think I was only 15. I just felt so young there. It was my first overnight big camp experience. They push you on the ice, but I loved how much they focused on the team-first mentality and actually being a part of the team and something bigger than yourself. That whole thing really stuck with me. I was fortunate enough to be on the U-18 national team for the three years I was eligible. Two of them, we took home a gold medal, and the one year that we took home a silver medal, I think I probably learned the most that year. As cliche as it sounds, I think it really did help us to come back with a really distinct goal in mind. My third year was probably my favorite year. It's crazy to think we've traveled the world, from Russia, to Japan, to Slovakia. It's insane to think about the whole experience that we've had together.
GS: What is one part of your game that you're really confident in and one part of your game that you're looking forward to working on more this year?
MN: I think one part of my game that I'm pretty confident in is passing and having a vision of the ice. I really like making plays and finding open players. I try to always have my head up. I'm definitely going to have to work on that more going into college, but I love making what we always call triangle passes, when you go underneath the stick. I just think those are the most satisfying thing in the world. As a defense, I always look to pass first, so I would say that's probably one of my stronger skills. Then one thing I'm definitely going to have to work on is shooting from the blue line and getting used to the quick release from the point and probably also speed. I'd say those are the two main things that I'm going to work on.
GS: What was it like for you being a senior this spring? What will you take away from the experience going forward?
MN: It was definitely eye-opening and made me realize the little things I might have taken for granted in daily life. The biggest thing was, you could stress out about this stuff, but in reality, there's really nothing in your control that you could have done. I know so many girls weren't on the ice for at least two months, pushing three, and there were moments when I would think about that and get worried that I wouldn't be ready, that I wouldn't have enough ice time. I just said, I'm going to do whatever I can in my power at home to prepare myself for that. At the end of the day, it was a crazy time in the world and it still is and is going to have lasting effects. You just have to deal with it and make the best out of the situation because there obviously are still positives. I just tried to focus on that as a whole. I tried a lot of new things, and I cleaned my room. My parents were fortunate enough to be able to keep our business open, but that left me at home to clean and organize everything. I've taken up golf, too. I definitely would not have tried golf if we weren't in quarantine. It's hard!
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Gopher Sports: How did you first get into hockey?
Maggie Nicholson: I first got into hockey when I saw my cousin play. She started at a young age as well, and she ended up playing at Bethel University for a while. I originally play with the boys until my freshman year in high school. I went to Hopkins at first, and I remember the day when we got a flyer, just like a general Hopkins hockey flyer in the mail, encouraging people to sign up for the league. I remember my parents asking me if that was something that I'd be interested in, and I decided I wanted to try it out. From there, everything just snowballed at that point.
GS: Did you play any other sports when you were growing up?
MN: I used to play softball. My dad played softball for a long time, so he always liked to coach me in that, but I just narrowed it down to hockey once high school started.
GS: What's your earliest hockey memory?
MN: For the longest time when I was younger, I would always have my dad tie my skates. I remember we would skate early in the morning, and it was like winter time so we would get up to go skate on the open ice. It was like six or seven in the morning, and I would always ask him to tie my skates tighter. I would have them suffocating my feet.
GS: When did you realize that playing at the Division I level was a realistic possibility for you?
MN: I had a lot of coaches talk to me about it as I was going into high school, but I didn't really know if it would happen for me. I guess going into my freshman year was when talking to college coaches started, and that's when I realized it was a real thing. Once I committed, it was so surreal. Now it feels like three years later, I'm actually going to do what I planned all the way back in freshman year, and it's cool that it's happening right now.
GS: Were you a Gopher fan growing up? How did you choose Minnesota?
MN: Well, I grew up a North Dakota fan. I don't know if I should say this, but I remember the year that the Gophers were on that insane 60-game winning streak, and they lost to the Fighting Sioux at the time. I have a picture of my friend and me wearing our North Dakota jerseys with Goldy covering up our faces at that game. Thinking back to that, wow the times have changed! Going to Minnesota just seems like just the right thing. In Minnesota, our hockey is such a community already with how unique it is compared to all the other states, so it just felt right in my stomach when I was going through the process.
GS: What's your family like?
MN: We've always been a super close family. We're definitely a hockey family. My cousins have played hockey. My dad was definitely my toughest critic growing up, but it pushed me to be the player I am today. We were just talking about that, actually. There was one thing that will always stick with me. I had a boys game, and this makes him sound so bad but I swear he's the nicest person ever, but he told me that when I was on the ice, it was like we were on a penalty kill. They've always pushed me. Our family motto is that if you're going to do it, do it right it. I've kind of always stuck by that in whatever I'm doing, whether it's with school or hockey or going to a practice and not wasting your time there, and actually applying yourself lot. That has guided me so much in life.
GS: What was your high school hockey experience like?
MN: It was really good. I grew up playing at Hopkins, and I made a transition over to Minnetonka in middle school. We had a coaching change go into place my senior year, but I went to a bunch of camps that the previous coaches put on and we had such a great relationship. They really helped me out so much in my career on the ice but also off the ice. We had such a great team, especially my past two years. We made it to the state tournament twice. It was kind-of funny, my junior year was the first time that Tonka has been to the state tournament since we won the three-peat, so that was cool. Minnetonka is a really close community too, so just it was awesome. The atmosphere was always great at the games as well.
GS: Do you have a hockey role model?
MN: Growing up, I was a huge fan and looked up to Becky Kortum a lot. She went to Hopkins as well and at the time I was a super fan. I remember when I was younger I had one of her player cards that they did at Hopkins. She signed it for me, and I thought she was the coolest person ever. She went to the Gophers as well. I looked up to her a lot growing up, and I'd say she's probably my biggest role model.
GS: Do you know what you want to major in or what career path you want to pursue?
MN: I'm going to do Business and Marketing. We have a family company, and I'm going to probably work there after college. My dad started it before I was even born, so I'll follow in the family footsteps. He makes products for snowmobiles, and then he also has a label printing business.
GS: Was there anything about business operations that really drew you in?
MN: It's kind-of unique, and I know a lot of my dad's close friends that he does business with, so I want to be a part of that. It just started off as a smaller, homemade thing. We used to have a garage at our old house in the back where he would have his presses and all of the stuff to make the products. Now we're actually moving to a bigger factory building, and it's kind of crazy to see it all coming together and thinking that I'll be there in less than five years.
GS: What has been your USA Hockey experience been like? How has that helped you develop, and what stands out about that experience?
MN: It was very stressful at the beginning. Hockey in Minnesota is one thing, but you start to branch out to playing with girls from other states and different styles, too. I think Minnesota has a pretty distinct style with our hockey. When I went to my first camp, I think I was only 15. I just felt so young there. It was my first overnight big camp experience. They push you on the ice, but I loved how much they focused on the team-first mentality and actually being a part of the team and something bigger than yourself. That whole thing really stuck with me. I was fortunate enough to be on the U-18 national team for the three years I was eligible. Two of them, we took home a gold medal, and the one year that we took home a silver medal, I think I probably learned the most that year. As cliche as it sounds, I think it really did help us to come back with a really distinct goal in mind. My third year was probably my favorite year. It's crazy to think we've traveled the world, from Russia, to Japan, to Slovakia. It's insane to think about the whole experience that we've had together.
GS: What is one part of your game that you're really confident in and one part of your game that you're looking forward to working on more this year?
MN: I think one part of my game that I'm pretty confident in is passing and having a vision of the ice. I really like making plays and finding open players. I try to always have my head up. I'm definitely going to have to work on that more going into college, but I love making what we always call triangle passes, when you go underneath the stick. I just think those are the most satisfying thing in the world. As a defense, I always look to pass first, so I would say that's probably one of my stronger skills. Then one thing I'm definitely going to have to work on is shooting from the blue line and getting used to the quick release from the point and probably also speed. I'd say those are the two main things that I'm going to work on.
GS: What was it like for you being a senior this spring? What will you take away from the experience going forward?
MN: It was definitely eye-opening and made me realize the little things I might have taken for granted in daily life. The biggest thing was, you could stress out about this stuff, but in reality, there's really nothing in your control that you could have done. I know so many girls weren't on the ice for at least two months, pushing three, and there were moments when I would think about that and get worried that I wouldn't be ready, that I wouldn't have enough ice time. I just said, I'm going to do whatever I can in my power at home to prepare myself for that. At the end of the day, it was a crazy time in the world and it still is and is going to have lasting effects. You just have to deal with it and make the best out of the situation because there obviously are still positives. I just tried to focus on that as a whole. I tried a lot of new things, and I cleaned my room. My parents were fortunate enough to be able to keep our business open, but that left me at home to clean and organize everything. I've taken up golf, too. I definitely would not have tried golf if we weren't in quarantine. It's hard!
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