Islanders prospect Anders Lee is thriving in his second year in South Bend, and loving every minute of it. 

Like every college student in the summer before his sophomore year, Anders Lee had a big decision to make. Except that his didn’t involve a roommate and an off-campus apartment, nor a debate over whether it was time for that 200 level course.

The strapping young guy from Edina, Minn. – all 6-foot-3 and 218 pounds of him – was coming off a strong freshman year for Notre Dame when he scored 24 goals and 44 points in 44 games. That was less than a year after the New York Islanders made him their sixth-round choice in the 2009 NHL Draft.

The question plaguing Lee this past summer was whether to drop out of school and go pursue his dreams of playing pro hockey or whether to stick with a good thing. After all, had it not been for teammate and classmate T.J. Tynan’s surprisingly explosive season, Lee could have run away with every rookie-of-the-year award. He had proved himself.

“It was an option last year, but this is where I wanted to be,” Lee said recently. “I just love this school and the guys on this team, the coaches, so there was never any doubt I’d be here.”

Added Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson, a one-time assistant with the Islanders who stays in the loop with Islanders GM Garth Snow, “Part of the reason he made the choice to play at Notre Dame was to get a degree from this school. And you’ve got to remember, he played for his high school the whole time. He could have left there two or three different times to go play juniors in the USHL, but he didn’t. I think that says a lot about his loyalty to his team.”

The situation in South Bend is good. After making a spirited run to the Frozen Four last season with a roster that included a dozen freshmen, the Irish have remained this season at or near the top of all the rankings. Until Colgate’s Austin Smith and Minnesota’s Nick Bjugstad got going, Lee led Division I in scoring; his 12 goals are still tops at Notre Dame. He's picking up time on the penalty kill to further develop his skills. And to buck the trend, Lee, as a sophomore, has already earned a spot as an alternate captain on the Irish.

Of that new role, Lee could only say, “I’ve absolutely embraced it.”

“He’s a very mature young man, and I could see it in his approach to training, approach to school, his approach to his team and games,” Jackson said. “I don’t think I’ve ever made a sophomore a captain in all my years coaching, so that says something.”

Jackson may have had to award an “A” to a sophomore out of necessity – two-thirds of the Irish roster is underclassmen – he picked the perfect intimidating presence on the ice, one who can dominate by force of will alone.

“He’s a physical force, protects the puck, it’s hard to knock him off the puck,” Jackson pointed out.

Almost as hard as it is to knock him off a decision based on loyalty. For that, Notre Dame can be thankful.

Notes

Bemidji State sophomore D Sam Rendle, who has missed sporadic periods of time this season due to injury, will miss the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery later this month. … Outside of the NCAA, Canada’s Ryerson University announced it will use the ice at the old Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto as its home rink beginning next spring. … According to a story in the Kalamazoo Gazette, the soon-to-be National Collegiate Hockey Conference expects to have its first commissioner in place by the end of this month. The NCHC will begin play in 2013. … In just nine games, Penguins prospect Nick D’Agostino of Cornell already has four game-winning goals to lead the nation in that category. … On TV this weekend, Fox Sports North will carry both games of the Minnesota-Minnesota State series, while CBS College Sports carries Friday night’s tilt between Boston and Boston College.

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