August 5, 2011 at 5:45 p.m.
Jetting to Janesville
Kronberger elects to play junior hockey
Jetting to Janesville
By Jonathan Bailey-
One year after leaving his hometown of Rhinelander to play for the Marquette Electricians, a Tier 1 Midget AAA Hockey program, Kronberger has once again made the decision to pack his bags, this time for the North American Hockey League's (NAHL) Janesville Jets.
It was one of two offers he had on the table, the other being with the Soo Eagles of Sault Ste. Marie (Mich.), a member of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL). The fact that the NAHL is the only Junior Tier II league sanctioned by USA Hockey played a critical role in his decision to choose Janesville.
"It was kind of a tough decision because Janesville is in a little bit better of a league," Kronberger said. "That was kind of a key point. The organization is pretty well run and there are a lot of opportunities, like scouts that will come and watch."
Kronberger, a defenseman, was on Janesville's radar as early as May, when the NAHL conducted its annual draft. He had attended pre-draft camps for several NAHL teams, including Alexandria, Austin (Minn.) and Janesville.
Heading into the draft, the Jets had indicated that they were relatively sure that they would be drafting him. It concluded, however, with Kronberger still left on the board. He was later told by Janesville that they didn't draft him because of some of the other players still available.
"It was kind of a downer at first, but after that night it was more of an 'alright, now I have to get to the grindstone and see how good of shape I can get in before I get into the last week before Janesville's main camp was," Kronberger said.
In June, Kronberger began a daily workout program that he learned in Marquette. Not quite happy with the results, he reached out to former Rhinelander High School football coach Bill Makris, who runs a training camp for athletes. It was there that he believes he made his greatest gain.
"I think what really got me into that better shape was he does running days, like sprinting and sprinting against resistance, on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then lifting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays," Kronberger said. "It was a changeup to my routine that had been going on. It was a good change and I felt it almost immediately. I felt I was getting faster and was able to run longer."
Kronberger attended a three-day tryout for the Soo Eagles in June. The Eagles, who had recruited him heavily after seeing him play for the Marquette Electricians the year prior, in which he took home MVP honors and the Hogan Award for Academic Achievement and Character, liked what they saw and offered him a spot on the team.
Before accepting, however, he wanted to go through his tryout with Janesville in July. Entering the audition for the NAHL team, Kronberger didn't know what was in store and had heard horror stories about conditioning sessions before the practices. He said that he was happy that none of that happened.
The tryout lasted five days and began with six teams, which was cut down to two for two all-star games that would help determine the final roster. Kronberger made the all-star games and was eventually selected to the team. With so many talented skaters, Kronberger said it was about doing the small things right, even if that included dropping his gloves.
"There's not a huge difference from player to player," he said. "They all have good skills. They're all good skaters. The only thing that makes you different from the player sitting next to you is just the little things that you do right.
"I was just striving to really improve each game and show them that there is more to me than meets the eye," the 5'8", 165-pound Kronberger added. "I dropped the gloves and fought down there just to show the coach that I would, if I had to. I am not a fighter, but I would do it if I had to. I don't know if that played into me making the team or not, but I don't think it hurt."
Kronberger was leaning heavily towards accepting Janesville's offer but gave it some thought. Before ultimately deciding to play for the Jets, Kronberger said the Soo Eagles contacted him several times. Among those who got in touch with him was NHL Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine, who is a co-owner of the Eagles' organization.
In the end, however, it came back to the fact that Kronberger believed Janesville offered more opportunities and better competition, which would require him to push himself harder, While Kronberger was offered a roster spot by the Jets and accepted it, he still has plenty of work to do.
"I think right now I am going to be in their top eight defensemen, so I'm going to have to fight my way into the top six for a regular lineup spot," Kronberger said.
He will move in with a host family down in Janesville on Aug. 21 to get ready for the fast approaching season. The Jets' first game is scheduled for Sept. 14 against the Wenatchee Wild. In all, Janesville has 60 regular season games slated for this season, which run until March 31.
Kronberger hopes to return to Rhinelander High School to finish his education and play with the baseball team following the conclusion of the hockey season.
As for the future, Kronberger hopes that his experience with the Janesville Jets will allow him to take the next step up in the junior program, the United States Hockey League (USHL), which is the top junior hockey league in the United States.
"I'm hoping that I play well and get noticed by a team in the USHL and go there," Kronberger said. "I don't think as of right now, if a Division 3 school made an offer to me, that I would accept it.
"The USHL is a tier 1 league, so there is not as many teams and they also have a lot more money to put towards (equipment)," he added. "It's a good league to be in. A lot of the colleges will go to USHL right away to scout players, because there's teams all over the Midwest."
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