Powerful play sparks forward

A slick sheet of freshly resurfaced ice is all that lies between Eliot Bergbauer and the pursuit of perfection. 

His hockey stick leading the charge, Bergbauer glides across the ice focused solely on the task at hand. 

As his teammates whizz past in the opposite direction, the Tampa 2001 Hockey Club forward speeds across the blue line pushing the puck toward the goal line. In the blink of an eye, Bergbauer brings the stick across his body and fires a shot into the back of the net. 

The scene will repeat throughout the duration of the hourlong spring practice, as the Sarasota Military Academy freshman works to improve his individual performance in preparation for the 2016-17 season. 

Bergbauer has been a part of the Tampa Bay 2001 Hockey Club since 2010 when the team was founded; and on May 22, Bergbauer will learn where he ranks among his teammates following the completion of the team’s two-day, five-hour on-ice tryout. 

“He has that dream to play (professional) hockey, and we’re doing everything we can to support that,” Bergbauer’s mother, Helene Bergbauer said. “He just has a passion for hockey, and when he’s on the ice, you see it.” 

Bergbauer found hockey by chance when he was 6. Looking to escape the intense summer heat, Helene took Eliot and his older brother, Nicholas, to the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex to go ice skating. 

At the rink, Bergbauer watched, mesmerized, a hockey player gliding across the ice, hitting puck after puck into the waiting goal — then turned to his mother and told her he wanted to be just like that hockey player. 

Bergbauer signed up for skating lessons, and within a year he joined his first hockey team. 

“Once I discovered hockey, there was nothing else in the world that I wanted to do,” Bergbauer said. 

Since joining the Tampa Bay 2001 Hockey Club nearly six years ago, Bergbauer, now 14, has been an integral part of the team, bringing size, aggressiveness and strength to the team. Bergbauer has developed not only his knowledge of the game but also his ability to play both forward and defense. 

"He continues to grow as a hockey player," coach Jim Carey said. "With every new season, his understanding of the game and the systems involved has increased tremendously." 

This past season, Bergbauer landed back on the team’s power play and penalty kill squads. 

“It means a lot because it shows that I’m improving as a player,” Bergbauer said. “I just want to keep it going, continue to get better and have a chance of playing at a high level.” 

During the 2015-16 season, Bergbauer helped lead the Tampa 2001 Hockey Club to a 16-16-6 record, including victories against the Highland Park Falcons U15AA, Team Illinois and the Nashville Junior Predators U16AA team during a four-game stint in mid-March at the University of Notre Dame. 

Bergbauer admits playing hockey in Florida poses challenges at times. While Florida has a lot of youth and travel hockey teams, the level of competition isn’t the same as in other parts of the country. 

Over the course of the fall season, Bergbauer and his teammates travel once a month to compete in a tournament or superseries, all of which are out of state. 

Although hockey isn’t nearly as prevalent in Florida as other sports, Bergbauer has learned to adapt. 

“It’s not like Minnesota or Canada, but we still have hockey players,” Bergbauer said. 

With another season behind him, Bergbauer already is looking ahead to the future — one he hopes includes a college scholarship and an opportunity to play professionally. 

Bergbauer has the size, skill and ability to play hockey for years to come, as long as he continues to further develop and commit himself to the sport, Carey said. 

"Elliot's future and hockey is 100% dependent on him," Carey said. 

A former defender turned forward, Bergbauer is now in the midst of his spring season, which includes two hours of practice every Monday and Wednesday with one hour dedicated to off-ice conditioning, including sprints and weight training, and the other to on-ice training. 

“I want to be able to improve my game, get better and advance,” Bergbauer said. “It takes a lot of hard work to get really good. I love the sport, but I know it’s going to be tough to move on.”