Page 12 - Washington Little Capitals Season Program 2016-17

and that is when Quinnipiac be able to do it in the USHL and he
spotted me,? he says. ?It was flourished. He was told he wasn?t going to
my only Division 1 offer and be able to do it in college and he was an
the only school I was really absolute superstar. I?m sure he?s been told
talking to.? Despite his again that it?s going to be hard for him at
obvious talent, every other the next level."
Division 1 school overlooked
Looking back, he says, ?There are some
him because of his size. Anas
guys, when I was 14 years old, they were
committed to Quinnipiac,
the best players around, and now they are
where he was named 2014
not even playing hockey. Me, I didn?t even
NCAA Rookie of the Year,
make the team and I?m still playing. I used
and led his team in scoring
it for motivation.?
over his first three seasons,
with 69 goals and 63 assists in Not only is he still playing, he?s the first
121 games. This year he was player born in the Washington, DC area
named First Team All who played hockey locally through high
American and helped take the school and then signed with an NHL team.
Bobcats to the Frozen Four He has great memories of his Little Caps
championship game. days. ?My dad was my assistant coach
when I was playing Little Caps so it was
The lesson, Anas says, ?It
always cool to have him around and on the
really only takes one
bench teaching me things,? he says. ?My
opportunity to get noticed.?
best memory was my pee wee major year
Yet despite that impressive when we went to the Pee Wee Quebec
record, he still went undrafted tournament. We just had so much fun. The
and his NHL dreams seemed family we stayed with had a lake in their
out of reach. Then, in April, back yard so we?d come back from a game
during his junior year at and go to their house and we?d be on the
Quinnipiac, he opened his backyard rink all night playing hockey. It
email to find a 2-year contract was just so much fun.?
offer from the Minnesota
What has been the key to his success? ?The
Wild. Despite having a year
first thing I?d say is perseverance,? he says.
Sam Anas as left of NCAA eligibility, he ?Not making the AAA team, and not
a Little Cap decided to go pro ? but not making my varsity team, I just persevered
before finishing his
and kept working hard and I always knew in
Bachelor?s degree in
I?ll never forget them telling me I was too the back of my mind that I was going to
entrepreneurship a year early that spring.
small? he says, ?but I didn?t want to quit prove some people wrong. I knew that I was
Now he?s getting set to try and make the
because I loved playing hockey so much, so going to be a hockey player.? He says you
NHL squad.
I kept working hard and got back to it.? He don?t need size to succeed in hockey. ?I
played two seasons with the Montgomery He says he will likely have to prove himself learned ways to use my size to my
Blue Devils U16 advantage. When
AA team. ?I you are a small guy,
didn?t talk to one you have to be
school, one junior " Not mak ing the AAA team, not mak ing smarter than other
team, not even a players on the ice,
D3 school,? he my varsity team, I just persevered and and you have to be
says. He attended k ept w ork ing hard. I alw ays k new I'd able to use your
USA Hockey stick. There are so
tryouts, but ?I prove some people w rong." many times when
never made it past you go in a battle in
the Southeast - SAM ANAS the corner against a
Districts. I never guy who is 75
even made it to pounds heavier than
the national you, but you come
camp.? out with the puck
at the AHL level first. At the Minnesota because you anticipated what you think he?s
His big breakthrough finally came when he Wild prospects camp this summer, Iowa going to do -- and then were able to use
made the U18 DC Capitals AAA team, and Wild coach Derek Lalonde said Anas is "a your stick to win that battle. You might not
scored 61 goals in a single season. ?All of a guy that has had a chip on his shoulder at be able to out-muscle them, but you can
sudden within a few months, I played well, every level. He was told he wasn?t going to outsmart them.?

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