Growing up in Nova Scotia in a family that loved hockey, there was never any doubt for Andrew Joudrey that he would play the game. What he might not have known, however, is that after years of hard work, he would wind up playing for the Wisconsin Badgers.

Joudrey has been playing hockey as long as he can remember. He first laced up his skates at the age of three, and started playing organized hockey at age five.

When winter rolled around in Bedford, Nova Scotia, it was time to bust out the skates and sticks, and even when things thawed out in the summer, there was still a focus on hockey.

"There was soccer and baseball in the summer, but it was all just staying in shape for hockey or just something to do until hockey started again," Joudrey said.

There was never a doubt that he would play, especially living with such a hockey-oriented family. His father, Ken, played college hockey at St. Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and became a real role model to Andrew as a youngster. And when his father wasn't encouraging hockey, his grandfather was.

"[My dad] was always taking us to the rink — him and my mom — but he really loved hockey. He would always be showing us tricks," Joudrey said. "Plus my grandfather was still in really good shape and he would skate with us all the time.

"When my dad was at work he would come get us and bring us to the rink," Joudrey continued. "We were a really strong family that was really involved in hockey."

Joudrey reminisced about growing up with hockey on Saturday nights in Canada.

"It was quite an experience. Every Saturday night was hockey night in Canada on TV, and you're playing ball hockey all day and coming in and watching at night," Joudrey said. "It was a way of life at home."

When he wasn't skating with his family, he was skating with his friends from school, even if they didn't have access to a rink.

"All the time after school we'd go down — a bunch of friends — would go down to the lake down the street," Joudrey said. "[We'd play] pond hockey, and then, whenever we could get ice, we'd go in and practice."

Joudrey as a Badger

Now in his third year at the UW, Joudrey has developed into one of the most sound players on the team, as well as one of its biggest leaders. The junior was voted by his teammates to wear an "A" on his jersey as assistant captain this season.

To the naked eye — or ear — Joudrey may not seem like the clear-cut choice for captain. The usually soft-spoken forward does not come off as a player who gets his teammates riled up in the locker room.

But those teammates knew what they were doing when they picked him.

"He is a shy, quiet guy, but one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. He's a lead-by-example guy, and the guys see the example he sets both away from the rink and in the locker room," team captain Adam Burish said. "He's not a guy that's going to come in and scream at guys, but just by the way he plays and the way he handles himself, he's got those leadership qualities."

"I'm just trying to be a positive force both on and off the ice," Joudrey said. "It doesn't have to be vocal, it's just being there for guys and being a leader on the ice in how I play."

Senior right-winger Ryan MacMurchy saw Joudrey as a leader even before he came to Wisconsin when the two played together for the Notre Dame Hounds of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

"He's a great leader," MacMurchy said. "He's always got his stuff together off the ice and he's a vocal guy in the rink and always a positive guy. He's definitely someone who's really matured."

MacMurchy also said Joudrey was the biggest jokester on the team, always busting out one-liners and fun facts.

"He's kind of a quiet guy sometimes but he comes out of his shell when he needs to and he gets the guys going and is a real voice in the locker room," MacMurchy said.

MacMurchy made Joudrey's transfer to college play just that much easier. The two played together on the same line for the Hounds, and have carried the chemistry fostered there onto the ice for the Badgers, where they have played on a line together for most of the last two years.

"We have a great chemistry that we had at Notre Dame and came down here and we've been working all the time to keep that chemistry strong and keep building," Joudrey said. "We have a really good relationship, talking to each other and knowing what each other is going to do."

Perhaps the main concern for Wisconsin after the first two series this season has proved to be goal scoring. The Badgers have scored just nine goals in four games.

As a leader and an offensive player — he scored 27 goals and notched 51 assists in 53 games for the Hounds in 2002-03 — Joudrey is dedicated to fixing the scoring woes.

"You don't think it's much, but just putting a rebound home in a drill can go a long way," Joudrey said. "It's really practicing on the ice and getting really focused and coming out and wanting to score. [Head coach Mike Eaves] always talks about willing the puck to you."

"I see a little bit more assertiveness by Andrew," head coach Mike Eaves said. "He's going to be a real solid player for us. He wants to get the offense going here a little bit, and I'm sure he will."

Part of getting things going with Joudrey and MacMurchy's line will be finding a consistent third line-mate. Matt Ford started off the season with the two, former Badger Matt Auffrey played on the line at times last year and now freshman Ben Street is getting an opportunity.

"I love playing with Jouds, and once we find another guy it's going to be pretty scary," MacMurchy said. "I think Street can be that guy, it's just early for him. He's just getting his feet wet as a freshman."

"We'll just keep working and we'll find one," Joudrey said. "Right now we're working well with Street and hopefully that keeps going and getting better."

Joudrey continues to turn that hard work as a kid into a steady career with Wisconsin. He had 14 goals and 32 assists in his first two seasons, though he has just one assist so far this year.

However, if Street pans out on the line with Joudrey and MacMurchy, look for a spike in Joudrey's numbers, the Badgers' scoring and the team's success.

"We have the ability to put up goals like [the Earl line] and other lines around the league," MacMurchy said. "We've got great skills and work really hard. We've just got to get really comfortable and have that chemistry with another guy, which we don't have yet."