Q&A: Jacob Nordqvist, Lake Superior State Recruit

Jacon Nordqvist recently moved from Sweden to the United States to play for the Fargo Force of the USHL. The 3.5 star prospect recently committed to Lake Superior State and will join the team in the 2019-20 season. Neutral Zone chatted with Nordqvist about his youth hockey experience, why he came to the USHL and why he chose Lake Superior State.

Neutral Zone: How and when did you start playing hockey? 

Jacob Nordqvist: My dad played hockey when he grew up and my mom used to figure skate, so they took me to the rink as often as they could, and when I could skate well enough they signed me up for my first youth team. I had my first hockey practice at around age five.

NZ: What was your youth hockey experience in Sweden like?

JN: My youth hockey experience was good. I played my most youth hockey year for a team called IF Mölndal Hockey. We had a pretty good team and actually won the district championship when we were 13 years old.

NZ: How did you make the decision to come to the US and play for Fargo?

JN: That was a really hard decision for me. I wanted to try something new at first and I have always been interested in playing hockey in North America, and I knew USHL is a really good hockey league. I visited Fargo in April last year watched one of their playoff games and it just seemed like really good place to be. So I went to their main camp during the summer and made the team from there.

NZ: Tell us about your recruiting process. What other schools did you talk to and where else did you visit?

JN: The whole recruiting process started at the beginning of the season. College hockey was always really intriguing to me and I knew it was the path I wanted to take. I talked to some schools and also did a visit to Bemidji State when I was here in April.

NZ: How did you decide on Lake Superior State?  

JN: It just seems like the best fit for me. I really liked the place when I did my visit and it feels like it’s the best place for me to develop as a hockey player and a person.

NZ: What’s your best on-ice skill?

JN: I see myself as a puck moving defensemen, so my best on-ice skill would be my skating, vision, puck handling and making good plays.

NZ: What part of your game has improved the most over the past few years?

JN: I have been working hard the last couple of years with my strength in the gym, and that has helped me a lot to become a faster skater and stronger on the puck during battles.

NZ: Which part of your game are you trying to improve the most?

JN: I am working hard to get a better shot so I always can be a threat in the offensive zone.

NZ: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in life?

JN: That’s probably to leave my home in Sweden and move here to play hockey. That was a really tough decision but right now I’m sure I did the right thing.