Sp o r t s
Triple Play
Three Jewish teammates are boosting the U-M hockey team.
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Eric Nystrom
Noah Ruden
MIKE ROSENBAUM
Nevertheless, "You can use it as an advantage or
you can use it as a negative. [You can say,] `Oh,
I'm living in the shadow,' or you can use it to get
yourself some exposure. People will maybe take an
extra look at the type of player I am, just because
I'm Bob Nystrom's son."
Nystrom — whose mother, Michele, is Jewish —
grew up in Syosset, N.Y. He was raised and identifies
as a Jew. He played a variety of sports before gravitat-
ing to hockey.
"I played soccer, football and everything," he says.
"But as I got older I gained more of an interest in
hockey and gave up the other ones. For some reason,
I just had the most interest in hockey. You could say
that's because of my dad, but he never really pushed
me to play. I made my own decision to stick with
hockey."
Nystrom moved to Ann Arbor at 16 to join the
U.S. National Team Development Program. He
graduated from Ann Arbor Huron High School in
2000, then accepted a hockey scholarship from U-M.
Special to the Jewish News
he University of Michigan has a "hat
trick" of Jewish stars who are helping
its hockey team remain one of the top
programs in the country.
The trio includes sophomore winger Eric
Nystrom, freshman defenseman Danny Richmond
and freshman goalie Noah Ruden.
The 6-1, 197-pound Nystrom is probably
Michigan's best-known player. The son of former
New York Islanders great Bob Nystrom (who isn't
Jewish), Eric Nystrom was drafted 10th in the
first round of last year's National Hockey League
entry draft by Calgary. He played for two consec-
utive years on the U.S. team in the World Junior
Championships.
Nystrom understands that his famous name can
be a double-edged sword. "You hear the same
questions a lot from some of the press," he says.
Danny Richmond
He chose Michigan because "the program and
the school and the prestige and tradition, both
academically and athletically, made it pretty much
a no-brainer. I visited here and I knew from the
minute I walked in the door that it's the place I
wanted to be."
Nystrom enjoyed a successful college debut last
year. He was named to the Central Collegiate
Hockey Association All-Rookie team after netting
18 goals and 13 assists in 40 games.
Danny Richmond is also following in his
father's footsteps — or skate trails — but in more
ways than one. Steve Richmond not only played
hockey, but played at U-M before becoming one
of a handful of Jews to skate in the NHL. In
addition, Danny's mother, Jeanne, played varsity
basketball at Michigan.
Richmond, 6-0, 172 pounds, played travel and
high school hockey in the Chicago area, then spent
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