Player Profile- Fred Hein

Wolverine Hockey- What do you hope to get out of your year here at Bridgton Academy?
Fred Hein- I need to work hard on my academics and get my SAT scores up. And athletically I like the fact we play about 50 games so that gives me a good amount of time to get bigger and stronger.

WH- What do you think when you hear “Bridgton Academy is a jock school”?
FH- It’s a school just like any other, a lot of the guys do play sports and we’ve got some great teams but at the end of the day we are still a school working hard on our grades too.

WH- What has surprised you about this year?
FH- That if I work hard academically I can get good grades, in high school I didn’t work as hard as I should and it showed on my report card. This year I know if I do my work I can actually earn the grades I want to get.

WH- What is your favorite class?
FH- Law and Society with Mr. Daley, It’s something different everyday, it’s a class you want to go to, he does a great job of keeping it interesting.

WH- If you could say something to yourself a year ago, go back in time sort of thing, what would it be?
FH- Work extremely hard in high school. I never realized how much academics count until this year, and the end of my senior year when I realized the importance of getting good grades and working hard.

WH- What are you learning this year?
FH- How to get my work done on time and how to manage my time better where I can get all my work done on time and still play hockey.

WH- What does it mean to be a Wolverine?
FH- Theres a lot of tradition here, Bridgton is known for having a great reputation and you wanna live up to the sort of standard set by the guys who have been here before us.

WH- What are you enjoying here at BA?
FH- Playing hockey, the team is great, its almost like playing on an all-star team. So many guys from different backgrounds from all over the country. Hockey is definitely the most enjoyable part.

WH- What do you think of the team, the level of competition?
FH- The team is great, we all come from different parts but we all became friends right away, we gelled as a team, and the competition level is amazing, and playing 50 games is a lot of fun.

WH- What do you want to do when you leave Bridgton?
FH- At some point I would love to play college hockey, its been a dream of mine for awhile, but if that means playing a year of Juniors and taking some classes somewhere first then that’s what I’ll do, it all just depends I think on how the rest of the season goes.

WH- What hockey skills do you hope to improve?
FH- My speed, speeds the name of the game, developing skills is important too but at this level everything is just so much faster so I would say improving my speed.

WH- Who are some of your role models?
FH- Theres two, one is my Dad, hes the whole reason I’m still playing hockey. He taught me everything I know, passing shooting, really just everything. And the other is one of my friends, Max Gratchev, he plays professional hockey, just got drafted by the NY Islanders, I trained with him all summer long, he helped me a lot in teaching me how to become a better player so I definitely look up to him. He’s given me the keys to success at the next level.

WH- What would you say to a future Wolverine who may be reading this?
FH- Keep your head up, make the right decisions, and make the best out of your season cause it goes by fast. Even though it’s just a saying, “The year that makes the difference” it really is true, it really does make a difference.