Former National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) forward Madoka Suzuki committed to Carleton men’s hockey for the 2021-22 season, the team announced last month.
In 2020-21, Suzuki joined Long Island University to play Division I hockey in the NCAA. After a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Suzuki decided to transfer to Carleton.
“There were many factors that played a role, but I think the biggest influence was the way I felt with how I will fit in with the team and the coaching staff,” Suzuki said. “I felt that I can contribute here to help the team win and grow both on and off the ice.”
For Suzuki, speed is the name of the game.
“He is a very fast player [and] he will make us a quicker team,” men’s hockey head coach Shaun Van Allen said in an email. “We expect Madoka to play fast and be in hard on the forecheck. [We] hope he creates turnovers and basically plays his game where he can create chances.”
One of Suzuki’s greatest strengths as a player is his skating and his use of speed to pressure opposing defencemen. Van Allen said he thinks Suzuki will be effective at both ends of the rink.
“We expect him to play a 200-foot game and chip in with some offence,” Van Allen said.
Evan Mitchell, Suzuki’s former teammate and co-assistant captain on the Kemptville 73s, had a similar analysis of Suzuki’s game.
“He can make plays anywhere on the ice,” Mitchell said. “Suz is a guy anyone would be lucky to have on their team.”
Suzuki said he is ready for whatever role he needs to play.
“Obviously scoring goals and producing is fun, but I pride myself in other areas of the game as well,” Suzuki said. “If my role is to kill penalties, block shots and shut down opponents, I will gladly do that to contribute to the team. If I’m expected to produce, I have faith in myself that I can meet the expectations in that regard as well.”
Suzuki’s hockey career has been long and unique. When Suzuki was 14, he moved with his mother and sister from Japan to Canada to pursue his hockey dream.
“There are many people who have pushed me and believed in me throughout my career, but family is no doubt my biggest inspiration,” Suzuki said. “I have been so fortunate to have such a supportive family behind me to make this all happen.”
His career began in Bellville, Ont. playing for the 2015-16 Quinte Red Devils U16 AAA—the same team where Nashville Predators centre Nick Cousins began his career.
Not long after, Suzuki moved to the Ontario Junior Hockey League and spent two seasons with the Kemptville 73s of the Canadian Central Hockey League. In his second season, he led Kemptville in scoring with 27 goals and 32 assists in 61 games.
Now entering a new chapter in his career, Suzuki said the reputation of Carleton’s hockey program played a factor in his transfer decision along with his familiarity with the Ottawa region from his time in Kemptville, Ont.
“The coaches here are fully invested in developing the players and building a winning team,” he said. “Recent records speak for [themselves] and many people told me Carleton will be a great destination, so there was no doubt in my mind that this is a place where I wanted to transfer to.”
Featured image provided by Carleton Athletics.
