This Zajac's a defenseman - and a good one

It's the million-dollar question that Nolan Zajac figures has been asked at least a million times.

They all want to know how he became a defenseman.

"I've been asked that my whole life," the second-year Cedar Rapids RoughRider said. "No one knows the answer, not even my parents. I just always remember playing D-man when I was little, and that's it.

"I actually always wanted to be a goalie when I was really little. But I started playing defense, and it's never been anything different."

Well, it is different from everyone else in his family.

Oldest brother, Travis, is one of the top two-way centers in the NHL, a fifth-year member of the New Jersey Devils. Brother, Darcy, is a forward in the Devils system who has split this season between the American Hockey League and ECHL.

Brother, Kelly, is a junior at Union College in New York, averaging a point a game. The boys' father, Tom, played three years at the University of Denver.

Yeah, he was a forward, too.

"There's always that question 'Are they going to be as good as their brother?' " Nolan acknowledged. "It's different for me, though, as well, because they're all forwards. My dad was in college, too. I'm a D-man. So it's different."

You've seen the continuing maturation of the 18-year-old Winnipeg, Canada, resident this season. He has scored his first three USHL goals and is close to doubling his point total of 2009-10.

He also leads the RoughRiders and is tied for sixth in the league in plus-minus rating at plus-15. You get a plus-one every time you are on the ice when your team scores a goal at even strength and a minus-one when the opponent scores.

"I guess that means I've been playing pretty well defensively this year. Better than I was at the beginning of the year," Zajac said. "That's my main thing. Even in Midgets, where they didn't keep track of it, I made sure I wasn't getting scored on a lot. I don't like getting scored on. It's something that's always stuck with me like that."

RoughRiders head coach/general manager Mark Carlson agrees Zajac is a different player this season, one he envisioned getting when the Riders selected first in the 2010 USHL Entry Draft.

"I think he's playing very well," Carlson said. "All aspects of his game have improved. He's stronger this year, he's quicker this year. Because of his performance, he has gained more confidence. You gain confidence by performing, and that's what he's done. He's doing a good job in every situation."

Zajac may be a defenseman but he has offensive instincts, for sure. He's not shy about jumping into the play when it's there, though he knows he needs to read it properly and not get caught.

He's not overly physical, as his eight penalty minutes indicate, playing defense by being smart, being good positionally and using his skating.

"From last year, I'm more confident out there doing stuff," he said. "I just feel like my whole game has improved. I'm playing way better defense, everything has improved from last year. You play a lot better with a full year under your belt."

College hockey is on the horizon for Zajac, though he's biding his time and looking for the right offer. In the mean time, he'll keep helping the RoughRiders rack up wins.

And he hopes keep racking up a gaudy plus-minus rating.

"I think that shows how his play has improved," Carlson said. "This might not make any sense, but I think a lot of times that (statistic) is overrated when it's not good. But I think when it's good, when it's favorable, it says something that a guy is doing a lot of correct things on the ice. Good decisions with the puck, good decisions without the puck."