Sticking with high school hockey easy choice for Hartland's Albring

HARTLAND - A year ago, Josh Albring of Hartland had a decision to make.

Would he continue to chase his dreams playing at the AAA travel level, the route that most players take if they hope to eventually play junior or college hockey?

Or would he play for his high school team, taking the risk that it might stunt his growth as a player?

Albring decided to play for Hartland - and has never regretted it.

As a result, he didn't have to do much soul-searching as he headed into his junior year.

Of course, he was coming back to play for Hartland.

Why wouldn't he?

Albring was not only a star player for one of the top high school programs in Michigan, but he didn't feel like it in any way impeded his progress as a hockey player.

Quite the contrary, he believes playing for coach Rick Gadwa's program has given him exposure he never had on his AAA team.

"The first scouts I've really talked to was from playing at Hartland," Albring said. "Rick's done so much for me. He's really opened my eyes and just started to open so many options for me. It was pretty much a no-brainer. He also convinced a couple kids from our school who were playing AAA to come, so that made it easier."

Albring made All-State as a sophomore, ranking sixth in the state with 80 points and fifth with 46 assists. After Hartland fell behind 2-0, he scored a natural hat trick in the second period of a 5-4 overtime victory over top-ranked Birmingham Brother Rice in the state Division 2 quarterfinals.

He accomplished all of that while traveling 2.5 miles each day for afternoon practices, getting home before dinner time.

"I personally think it's the most fun time in my life I've ever had playing hockey," Albring said. "With AAA, you always had those late practices. You're getting home at 9, 10, 11 o'clock at night on school nights; you're just exhausted. In high school, you practice right after school. You're with the boys all the time. Every single day you're skating. It's helped boost my confidence and improve as a player."

Last season, Albring skated on a line with center Luke Cowan, an All-State Dream Team selection. Between them, they combined for 71 goals and 90 assists, ranking them second in the state as a scoring duo. They shared the load, with Cowan scoring 81 points and Albring collecting 80.

"Luke's a great player," Albring said. "He set up a lot of my points, because he's such a hard worker. A lot of my goals and points came from just hard work; a couple were lucky bounces and stuff like that. We've got Jed Pietila and a bunch of new guys who can definitely come in and help produce points. I'm not even going to be upset if I don't get a lot of points. As long as our team's winning, I'm happy."

Top 5 high school hockey players in Livingston County

Gadwa believes Albring will remain a dangerous scoring threat, even without Cowan by his side.

"It's a big year for Josh," Gadwa said. "He has a lot of junior interest. He decided to come back for another year with us. People question how is he going to play without someone like Luke Cowan. As a coach, I think he'll be fine; he'll have to prove that himself."

Hartland will open the season Friday and Saturday with a trip to Houghton. The Eagles will face Houghton at 7 p.m. Friday before taking on defending state Division 3 champion Hancock at 1 p.m. Saturday.

"We have a lot of new guys who can play at a high level," Gadwa said. "I want to show them high school hockey at its finest. There are no better hosts than Houghton, Hancock and Yooper hockey. It's a really good experience for the boys."

The season will begin in Livingston County on Wednesday with two games. Pinckney will face Dexter at 6:50 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Arena in Ann Arbor, while the Grand Ledge/Fowlerville co-op team will play Fenton/Linden at 7 p.m. at Hartland Sports Center.

Howell opens at 7 p.m. Friday against Pinckney at Grand Oaks Arena. Brighton, last season's state Division 1 runner-up, will be the last team to open the season, traveling to Orchard Lake St. Mary's at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 23.

Livingston County high school hockey preview

HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY SCHEDULE

Wednesday's games

Pinckney vs. Dexter (Veteran Memorial), 6:50 p.m.

Grand Ledge/Fowlerville vs. Fenton/Linden (Hartland Sports Center), 7 p.m.

Friday's games

Pinckney vs. Howell (Grand Oaks), 7 p.m.

Hartland vs. Houghton (Houghton County Arena), 7 p.m.

Grand Ledge/Fowlerville vs. DeWitt/St.  Johns (Suburban Ice Arena), 8 p.m.

Saturday's games

Hartland vs. Hancock (Houghton County Arena), 1 p.m.

Grand Ledge/Fowlerville vs. Royal Oak (Lindell Arena), 7 p.m.