Sdao prepared for final season with PU hockey
By Jashvina Shah, Special Writer
Princeton University ice hockey player Michael Sdao is no stranger to development camps. He took the ice for his first one in 2008, and four years later the defenseman finished another camp with the Ottawa Senators.
”It was a great experience I was up there learning a lot,” Sdao said. “The focus is on player development and preparing for what it takes to become a pro.”
Four years ago, after his first year of junior hockey, Sdao donned a Minnesota Wild jersey for his first development camp.
”I was younger and now I’m more familiar with Ottawa’s system after being at three camps,” Sdao said.
The 23-year-old said his favorite part of his third Senators camp was participating in scrimmages.
”A lot of fans came out to the game and it was fun to be able to play with the guys in camp and you always have to love playing games,” Sdao said. “I can’t really think of a toughest moment at this point. I loved it up there. There wasn’t a really tough moment.”
At 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, Sdao is Princeton’s second-largest player and defenseman.
”I consider myself a defensive defenseman. I like to think I play the game hard, I play physical,” Sdao said.
During his time at Princeton, Sdoa has tallied two game-winning goals, 39 points and 300 penalty minutes total in his three years.
”Over my three years I’ve gotten a lot stronger and become a better player and also just matured as a player so it’s been great,” Sdao said.
Last season Sdao served as an assistant captain and tallied 10 goals and 20 points, the highest of his Princeton career. It followed off-season back surgery, what Sdao classifies as one of his toughest moments.
”I think fortunately I haven’t had any really, really terrible injuries but I have had back surgery after my sophomore year and that’s probably the worst,” Sdao said. “I think injuries are the worst part of sports. Anyone will tell you that. But definitely I like my three years at Princeton so far.
”I mean, yeah, I was nervous, everyone’s nervous coming back from injury but I felt good on the ice, I felt confident so I wasn’t ultra nervous.”
Sdao’s journey to his fourth development camp started when he picked up his first hockey stick at age four. About nine years later Sdao knew he wanted to pursue the sport seriously.
”I wanted to try and go to prep school a year or two later to try and just develop as a player and just be able to play with the best players I could,” Sdao said. “So at that point I decided that hockey was something I wanted to pursue.”
In two years with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, Sdao recorded 19 points in 104 games. Then he came to Princeton.
”I was brought up that school is always important and my parents raised me with that in mind,” Sdao said. “The opportunity to go to Princeton and play Division I hockey was something I really couldn’t pass up.”
The rising senior is already thinking about the upcoming season and what his team can accomplish amidst a tight ECAC bunch.
”It’s impossible to pick a winner, anyone will tell you that,” Sdao said. “But I think if we come together we’re going to do really well. I think we can go in there and surprise a lot of people and do really well in this league.
”There’s just been so many good memories so obviously all the wins, the victories, those are great moments. But there are no memories that stand out in my mind right now so that’s the goal for next year, to make memories that are better.”