‘Just look at him’: Nikita Pavlychev continues to grow and excel as an enforcer for Penn State men’s hockey

As the lights dim at Pegula Ice Arena for player introductions and Penn State’s hockey players arrange themselves in a line, one player stands out above the rest.

Moments later, when the game is underway, this same player often stands out again after a big collision on the ice.

“Just look at him,” Penn State forward Evan Barratt, a Chicago Blackhawks draft pick, said. “He’s 6-foot-7. He’s mean, he’s physical, he’s heavy on his skates and he’s heavy on his stick.”

Nikita Pavlychev has always stood out in a Penn State uniform and has developed into the role of the Nittany Lions’ enforcer, but even now as his senior season comes to a close, the 6-foot-7 Russian is still growing.

In fact, Pavlychev’s entire career at Penn State has been defined by his growth and development both on and off the ice.

Pavlychev is listed at 225 pounds on Penn State’s roster, a drastic improvement from when he first arrived on campus, as the Russian is quite literally growing into his own body.

And as Pavlychev continues to grow, he only becomes more dangerous as a hockey player.

“First of all, I’m not exactly where I want to be, still a lot of room to grow and a lot of things to work on,” Pavlychev said. “I definitely think it has helped me on the ice, on my defensive side as well, as it has made it a lot easier for me to go to the net on the offensive side and winning battles, corners as well as face-offs.”

Pavlychev is the tallest player in the Big Ten and it only takes one glance in his direction to see why he has found success during his career at Penn State.

“He continues to work really hard in the weight room, and if you remember when he got here that visual to now, he is just a much stronger, much sturdier athlete,” coach Guy Gadowsky said. “He’s always had the competitive fire, the hockey specifically IQ and now it’s a matter of putting it together with a bigger, stronger body.”

Pavlychev has embraced his role as an enforcer at Penn State, doing the dirty work that often isn’t rewarded on the stat sheet or with spectacular plays.

On offense, Pavlychev is sent straight to the net to screen the goalie and tip the odd-shot into the goal.

The defensive end of the ice, however, is where Pavlychev shines.

This is where his job is to be physical and disruptive, often against the top offensive line of the opposition. Pavlychev is also a key member of Penn State’s penalty kill unit.

Pavlychev started playing hockey in America in 2011 for the Wilkes-Barre Knights in the AYBHL, alongside current Penn State teammates Denis Smirnov and Paul DeNaples, and current Philadelphia Flyer Ivan Provorov.

Pavlychev moved on to the United States Hockey League at the end of the 2013-14 season and spent two full seasons with the Des Moines Buccaneers.

Then in 2015, Pavlychev was selected in the seventh round of the NHL entry draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who still own his NHL rights.

But it wasn’t until Pavlychev arrived in State College in 2016 that he really found his place on the ice.

“I have to credit Guy Gadowsky, the day I came and stepped on the campus he helped me find my role,” Pavlychev said. “The coaching staff led me through this and taught me how I could fit the program and how it would not only benefit myself but also the team.

“Ever since then, I’ve been trying to embrace it and enjoy it every day.”

Pavlychev had a breakout year in his junior season, skating in all 39 games for Penn State and notching a career-high 14 goals and 15 assists, including an early-season stretch where he led the team in points.

“I’m glad I’m on his team and we’re the same color in practice so I don’t have to deal with that,” Barratt said. “He’s really good at what he does and he found something that he is good at so he is running with it.”

The Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick was showing signs of how dangerous of a player he could become.

But Pavlychev knows that he still has a long road ahead, full of work in order for him to reach his full potential.

“I can always improve a lot on my skating and that takes a lot of work off the ice as well,” Pavlychev said. “I have to get a little stronger in my lower body. I had a couple injuries earlier this year and those a lot of times are a result of being a little weak.

“So whenever I can do a lot of my lower body strength as well as upper body is always important. There won’t be as many injuries and I will definitely benefit with my speed on ice and protecting the puck.”

So far this season, Pavlychev has four goals and six assists in his 17 appearances.

Pavlychev isn’t just growing as a player on the ice, however, as he is also growing as a person.

One of the biggest areas of his growth is continuing to learn and master English.

“I mean to be completely honest, after this day, I still have yet to learn everything,” Pavlychev said. “I honestly can’t think of a day that goes by when I don’t learn something, at least one new word. But after my first couple years, year and a half, I actually started picking it up a little bit and it was very helpful that I had a lot of Russian friends around me.”

But what Pavlychev credits the most in helping him learn English was the American school system and his American family.

“You have no choice but to learn,” Pavlychev said. “If you want to eat, you have to ask for food. If you want to drink, you have to ask for a drink, and my family was very supportive. It was a fun experience.”

Despite admitting he is still learning English, Pavlychev has managed to be an Academic All-Big Ten selection the past two seasons.

And after talking to Pavlychev, it becomes clear that while he is mean on the ice, off it he is just a normal college kid, who admittedly likes to speak Russian with Smirnov to mess with his teammates.

“Some kids always try to learn some things, but most of the time people always want to learn something nasty or bad. But Liam (Folkes) tries to follow the sounds we say and tries to repeat everything we say, which is funny. He butchers it a lot,” Pavlychev said. “It’s definitely a lot of fun.”

Pavlychev is also a budding tour guide for his home city of Yaroslavl.

“It is a really pretty city. We have a very big history of a hockey team,” Pavlychev said. “If you ever get a chance to go there, I would highly recommend it.

“It’s definitely something to see. It’s not that big but it’s definitely a good site and has some rich history.”

It wasn’t easy for Pavlychev, but the Russian was patient and now has found and embraced his role at Penn State and is able to balance the work required to continue his growth on the ice while having a good time off it.

Pavlychev’s career at Penn State is quickly coming to a close, but he knows his work is far from over.

“It definitely takes a lot of work and we love doing what we do here,” Pavlychev said, “so you have to enjoy it just like anything else you do.”

This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 5:34 PM.