On a team possessing a stable of talented players, soft-spoken Andrew Joudrey flies below the radar. It should come as no surprise that Joudrey’s hobbies outside of hockey include the quiet pastimes of fishing and golf. Yet the sophomore center is following up a stellar debut campaign with an even better second season in Madison.
“[Andrew]’s the quietest almost-a-point-a-game guy in the league,” UW head coach Mike Eaves said. “But, he’s so valuable. We have great trust in Andrew in many areas of the game — offensively, defensively, his leadership, his steadiness, his consistency, his faceoffs … and that’s who he is as a person. There are times that I wish he would have more of an offensive swagger, because I think he could; but that’s not his personality … he’s quietly one of the more effective guys around.”
As the son of a former college player, hockey was pretty much in Joudrey’s blood. He began skating at age four and was playing organized hockey two years later. However, Ken Joudrey also showed his son that hockey could be an avenue to higher education.
“[My father] was pro-college, going that route anyway,” Joudrey said. “Just from his experiences and him telling how much fun he had and how much he learned on and off the ice through schooling and through hockey. He was a big influence.”
Prior to his arrival at UW, the Bedford, Novia Scotia native left his home for a prep school in Wilcox, Saskatchewan and skated a pair of seasons with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Notre Dame Hounds, earning team MVP honors in his second year.
“My senior year (of high school) away from home really helped me get ready for college,” Joudrey said. “And then the year after that, it really helped me mature on the ice. Just to get stronger, be a year older coming to college and those two years, especially away from home, really helped me with being self-independent and helped me in the transition down [to Wisconsin].”
Joudrey made the transition quite well, posting at least one point in 10 of his first 13 collegiate games on his way to a 22-point (seven goals and 15 assists) freshman season. Joudrey has avoided any sort of a “sophomore slump” in his second year, totaling 13 points (three goals and 10 assists) in just 16 contests.
“This year’s a lot better (than last year),” Joudrey said. “I mean, last year was great and we almost made the final four, but with losing some weight and getting quicker and stronger, and just having a year under my belt of being used to the school and being used to how the hockey’s played. It’s helped me a lot with starting off better than I did last year.”
In addition to centering a line currently featuring last season’s team scoring leader, Ryan MacMurchy and freshman Matt Ford, Joudrey mans the blue line on the Badger power play. With a group of young defensemen, Eaves and the rest of the coaching staff decided Joudrey’s skills could help offset a hole left on the UW power play by the departed Ryan Suter.
“[Andrew]’s a very fine skater,” Eaves said. “Not a lot of forwards can skate backwards and have that confidence to get things done. Well, he’s demonstrated that. As a skater we thought, ‘Well, let’s give him a try.’ We give him some repetitions in practice … and the more repetitions and the more time he’s spent on the power play back there, he’s really become very comfortable.”
With the help of coach Mark Osiecki, Joudrey has gained confidence in the new situational position and his teammates have noticed his improvement.
“It was a little different at first … Because he’s not a defenseman, I always kind of had to watch for an odd-man rush against the power play,” Joudrey’s partner on the power play unit, Tom Gibert, said. “But, he’s adapting and he’s been practicing defense for like the last month or so. So, it’s good, I like playing with him.”
Whatever position he plays, Joudrey is focused on helping the Badgers reach their ultimate aim — capturing college hockey’s highest honor.
“This year, individually I want to obviously surpass my point total from last year and be more of a positive factor,” Joudrey said. “For the team, to be honest our goal is a national title. I think it’s definitely going to be hard to get there and it’s going to take a lot of work, but with the guys we have … if we can keep improving there’s a chance.”
