Whalers Alex Aleardi, Alex Nedeljkovic Ready to Get Rolling

Plymouth Whalers Associate Coach Joe Stefan was succinct earlier this week when asked to name the players working the final Plymouth Whalers Hockey School session of the year.

“The two Alexes,” Stefan said.  “Aleardi and Nedeljkovic.”

Although both have the same first name, Alex Nedeljkovic and Alex Aleardi are in different stages of their hockey careers.  Both look to help Whalers in 2012-13 and eventually gain personal success.

Nedeljkovic, 16, was selected by Plymouth last spring in the sixth round (120th overall) in the 2012 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.  Many consider him to be among the top goaltenders in his age group in the United States after posting a 1.88 goals against average and .903 save percentage for the Belle Tire minor midgets last season.

The Whalers signed him on June 13.

“It’s been going well,” Nedeljkovic said earlier this week.  “Working with the kids has been good.  I’m getting to know the community, so things are going well.”

Nedeljkovic (pronounced na-DELL-koh-vich) was asked if the Whalers proven success in developing goaltenders for the National Hockey League had an influence on him committing to the OHL.

“I did think about that,” he said.  “The first goalie I thought of was Scott Wedgewood, seeing that he just signed with the New Jersey Devils.  When I see that, it makes me want to battle, compete even more and work harder to try to make it to the NHL.”

Nedeljkovic is no stranger to the Whalers.  He’s been working for the past couple of years with Plymouth goaltender coach Stan Matwijiw at his Bandits Goaltending School.

“He played last year for the Belle Tire midget minors,” Matwijiw said. “A close friend of mine, Joe Smaza, is the head coach there and I work with all of his teams.  Ironically, I also got a call from a coach in Cleveland – Don Harkins (Whalers Scouting Director) – and was asked the same thing, would I go to Cleveland to work with Alex?

“Alex was considered the best ’96 (goaltending prospect) in the country and it just happened that he ended up at Belle Tire.  I worked with him all of last year and what a pleasure – he’s an extremely good student of the game, he works hard, he’s super intelligent and most of all, he’s a great kid.”

Nedeljkovic was asked how Matwijiw helped him develop as a goaltender.

“Stan has helped me with my technical game, making sure all the little things are going well,” he said.  “He’s a great coach.  He makes sure I compete for every puck and battle for every play.”

According to Matwijiw, there is a method in his learning laboratory for goaltenders.

“It’s putting them in situations in drills, so it teaches them to battle,” Matwijiw said.  “What I tell my goalies is, if the shooter’s playing (then) you are playing.  As long as the shooter is playing out his rebound, then you are, too.  Bottom line is, don’t accept anything behind you.  You keep fighting.”

Alex Aleardi, now 20, is no stranger to Plymouth fans.  In fact, he is among the more popular players on the team.

Part of the reason could be his attitude.  Aleardi – one of the most positive people you’ll meet - prefers to skate on the sunny side of the ice.

“It’s the way I was raised,” he explained.  “My parents are the biggest influence in my life and they seemed to look at the best out of things, even in the worst situations.  So I grew up that way and I’ve stuck with that, even with hockey and everything else.”

Aleardi spends part of his summer playing inline hockey at a high level, with good results.  His FTB team is two-time National Champions.

“We had me, Garret Ross (Saginaw Spirit) and couple of guys who played in the NAHL and USHL,” Aleardi said.  “It’s a pretty good team, mostly ice hockey guys.  We got sponsored this year – Alkali Fusion Hockey – and won Nationals again for two years running.”

Aleardi has improved offensively every season for the last three years, posting a career-best 36 goals with 29 assists for 65 points in 68 games with the Whalers last season.  He’s one of the few players at any level of the game that can rush end-to-end and score with regularity.

Aleardi’s success has taken a little time.

“When I was younger, I was always fast and a good skater and things developed over time,” Aleardi explained.  “I feel like (now) I can control the puck.  I’ve worked on my hands and they’ve caught up with my feet.  I feel like I can make a play out of nothing now.  I take pride in that.”

Never drafted by an NHL team, Aleardi attracted attention from pro scouts last season and settled on going to the Columbus Blue Jackets Developmental Camp earlier this summer.  He played well and earned an invitation to play with the Jackets’ Prospects team at Traverse City, barring an NHL lockout.

“Columbus is close to home and they were really interested in me from Day 1,” Aleardi said. “So I felt confident that they were really watching me and took notice of my game and what I do well and what I need to work on.  It was a good decision. Hopefully they’ll be no lockout and we’ll be able to go to Traverse City.

“If I have to come back to Plymouth, it won’t be a bad thing at all.”