Up Close With PSR
R.J.Umberger

Once upon a time, R.J. Umberger was just another kid playing hockey. But that time didn't last.

The Plum native soaked up the game at warp speed and, relying on his natural athletic ability, soon was a dominant scholastic player. He had 116 points in 26 games during his sophomore—and final— season of high school hockey with the Mustangs, and that was evidence enough that it was time for him to find consistently better competition.

Umberger left home and spent two years with USA Hockey's National Development Program in Ann Arbor, MI. He was recruited by Ohio State and led the Buckeyes in scoring as a freshman, when he was also named Central Collegiate Hockey Association Rookie of the Year.

He made the U.S. National Junior Team that finished fifth in the 2001 World Junior Championships, then was drafted 16th overall by the Vancouver Canucks at the 2001 NHL Entry Draft—the first Pittsburgh-area player ever chosen in the first round. He led the Buckeyes in scoring as a sophomore and again as a junior this winter, when he finished the regular season and CCHA playoffs with 26 goals and 53 points in 42 games.

The 6-2, 203-pound center was the nation's 11th-leading scorer this season, and last month was named one of the 10 nominees for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the nation's best college player. Three finalists will be named April 2, and the winner will be announced April 11.

Umberger made his first appearance in the NCAA tournament late last month when he led Ohio State in a first-round game against Boston College.

PSR's Bob Grove caught up with Umberger just prior to the NCAA tournament and talked to him about his past, his future and the pain of watching his favorite team sink to the bottom of the NHL.

PSR: It's not exactly another day at the office when you're nominated for the Hobey Baker, right?

UMBERGER: I was pretty excited about it, but (the news) came at a bad time because I found out right after we lost to Michigan (in the CCHA playoffs). But I was very excited, because it was definitely a goal of mine to be a finalist. Even before I went to college, I always wanted to have a chance to be a finalist or win the Hobey Baker. In the off-season, I went out there with aspirations of doing that this year. And at the same time, I had goals for the team, because you don't get put in position for something like that unless the team does well.

PSR: Setting difficult goals like that could set you up for failure. . .

UMBERGER: I like to do that, because if I don't then I'll feel like I underachieved. I set my goals high and go for it. What's the worst that can happen? Maybe I won't win it, but I'll have busted my butt getting there.

PSR: You've gotten there with a lot of hard work on your own, obviously, but you've had some special help along the way, right?

UMBERGER: Definitely my parents helped me the most, because they put so much time and effort into it with all the different travel teams I played for. My dad was an inspiration to me. He was like my best friend. And Jim Lilja, my coach with the Pittsburgh Hornets, he was the first coach who really told me I could do something special. He got me motivated into making something out of (hockey).

PSR: You were pretty good at other sports. Why did you turn out to be a great hockey player?

UMBERGER: I just loved it right from the start. It was my passion. It was the fastest game, and I liked the pace of it. I was into baseball, but with hockey being as fast as it was. . . and then watching Mario over and over. The early 1990s were a special time, and I'll never forget them.

PSR: You've always been a big Penguins' fan. Still watching them?

UMBERGER: I'm still watching them, but it's killing me. It's tough. I barely know any of the players anymore. It's tough to watch them now after they were so good for so long when I was growing up.

PSR: Your rights belong to a Vancouver organization that appears to have its best days ahead of it.

UMBERGER: That's one of the things that I like most about Vancouver. They're a playoff team, and they're competing for the Stanley Cup now. I won't have the pressure of being a player that has to help save the team. . . not that I would be.

PSR: Speaking of the Canucks, you have one year of college eligibility remaining. Will you return to Ohio State or turn pro?

UMBERGER: I'll sit down with my family, talk to my coaches here and see what recommendations they make, sit with my family advisor and make a decision. I'll think about what's right for me—there's going to be a lockout in two years—and see what Vancouver thinks. I might decide in early spring or summer, but it's coming up soon.

PSR: You've had another very good year at Ohio State. What have been the most important strides you've made as a college player in the last two years?

UMBERGER: I made major improvements with my overall game and being consistent, because that's what it's going to take in the NHL. I got a little taste of that last summer in (Vancouver's prospect) camp, and I spent the week before that in Minnesota working out with some NHL players, and it's like a whole other world. That's why playing in the AHL might be the best step for me.

PSR: It's a whole other world?

UMBERGER: These guys, some of these guys are almost 40 years old, and the game's faster, it's more physical, you can't take a single day off, you have to play defense all the time. How I adjust to that will spell the difference on how much success I can have.

PSR: You've accomplished a lot at Ohio State. In what part of your game do you take the most pride?

UMBERGER: Just being a game-breaker. When I came to Ohio State, they wanted me to carry the team, wanted to build up the program around me. I have eight game-winning goals this year, and that's huge for me. We had some real success around Christmas, we went on a streak, and I pretty much carried the team on my back. Even the coaches said that. And that's what I wanted to be—a game-breaker.

PSR: That's not easy when the other team builds its defensive game plan around you.

UMBERGER: I've always been the leading scorer on every team I played on, the one they're trying to stop. A lot of it is mental, just knowing they're going to do that, preparing yourself for it, and when it happens just blocking it out and playing your game. It's easy to get caught up in all the jawing, but you just have to play your game and the chances will come.

PSR: How important is it to have success at the NCAA tournament?

UMBERGER: It's very important for me, because this might be my last chance. I want to get to the Final Four and win it. If I want to have a chance to win the Hobey Baker, we need to get to the Final Four. It's not easy. The games are played at a faster pace, they're more hard-hitting. . . it's pretty crazy.