Noah Szabo leading Steinbach Pistons into new era

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This article was published 07/10/2024 (215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There was no doubt heading into this season Noah Szabo would be wearing a letter on his jersey as part of the Seinbach Pistons leadership group, there was only a question of which letter.

The team chose to put the captain’s’ ‘C,’ on their 20-year-old standout defenseman.

“I’m really proud, it’s a huge honour,” Szabo said after the first week of action in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL).

“I’ve been here for three years now and the captains before were amazing and great leaders and I hope I can live up to the boys’ expectations.”

The team leant on that past to tell Szabo he’d be leading the team this year, showing their new captain a video of previous teammates congratulating him on getting the ‘C.’ Steinbach’s 2022/2023 captain, Dawson Milliken, still missing a tooth, delivered the news to Szabo.

“It was a bit of a shock,” Szabo said.

“It was amazing, I’ll never forget it.”

Szabo is the reigning MJHL defenseman of the year and has helped Steinbach to consecutive finals appearances. He helped anchor a defensive core last season which was ravaged by injuries. With an NCAA commitment locked up already Szabo is motivated to win another championship in Junior A.

“Everybody wants to come to the rink everyday and compete,” he said.

“I’m blessed to have the opportunity to be committed, but competing everyday is good.”

When it comes his performance during games, Szabo has leveled up his already outstanding play. He has five points in the team’s first four games.

During the team’s first victory against Winkler Sept. 21, Szabo looked two moves ahead of everyone else on the ice. In the second period, it appeared that the Flyers would have an easy breakout, but the future University of Alaska player neatly stepped around a forward at the offensive blue-line, getting in position to intercept the pass right as it was leaving the defender’s stick to keep the play alive.

Head coach and general manager Paul Dyck called Szabo a “student of the game.”

“(He’s) processing the game at another level, and it’s one of the reasons he’ll be playing division one hockey next year,” Dyck said.

“There’s typically a natural progression of growth and development for most players. He’s obviously a special player and thinks the game in a different way than the majority of players… You see him processing and reading the game much quicker than a lot of other players.”

Szabo won’t just be a mentor in the locker room, but also on the ice this season. He’s been paired with Oakbank’s Reece Gault to start the season. The 17-year-old defender turned heads with a highlight reel pre-season goal, showing off his potential and skill.

“I like feeding off the guy, he’s good, he’s smart,” Szabo said on his younger teammate.

“It’s good to go back to the bench and hopefully pass on some knowledge and gain some as well.”

When Szabo was new to the Pistons, he was paired with Langley Kruggel and is drawing on that experience when he’s on the ice this year.

Dyck said Szabo’s leadership on and off the ice is a big reason the team was so excited to see him return to junior hockey for his 20-year-old season.

“When Reece joined our program I felt (pairing him with Szabo) would be a great fit on both sides,” Dyck said.

“I think there’s an opportunity for Szabs to develop leadership and provide mentorship to a young defenseman who has some of the same attributes he has.”

There will be a big group of players who will be sharing the assistant captain role this season, with Spencer Penner, Jamie Fuchs, Shane Burns Sam Noad and Grady Hoffman all getting an ‘A’ depending on the jersey the team is wearing.

Newcomer Brayden Barnett will be the only permanent assistant, bringing leadership from his time in the Western Hockey League.

“Honestly, I could name 1,000 guys,” Szabo said on the team’s leadership group.

“There’s a lot of leaders on and off the ice. There’s guys without letters who are leaders in the dressing room and on the ice as well. I think it’s great.”

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