TYLER SEDLAK OF DON BOSCO PREP IS THE NJ.COM 2018-19 PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Tyler Sedlak remembers well before taking his first steps into Don Bosco Prep how much he wanted to take the ice donning the maroon and white. In sixth grade Sedlak would go to Ironmen games and imagine himself in those players skates, helping Don Bosco reach heights he nor the program had ever seen before. Yet not even he had any idea how correct his sixth-grade self would be in helping both himself and the Ironmen set the bar even higher. "It's surreal. I remember going into Bosco thinking about how all I wanted to do...I wasn't sure if there would be an opportunity there for me and play hockey there," Sedlak said. "Once that time came, I gave it everything I had. I never took a day off, focused on getting better and making everyone around me better. "It was enjoyable for sure. It's over now but there's no better way for us to go out." Sedlak, the 2018-19 NJ.com ice hockey player of the year, left his mark on the program both as an individual and as part of a memorable senior class. As a player alone, Sedlak leaves Don Bosco as the second-highest scorer in program history with 218 career points, 73 coming this season off 40 goals and 33 assists and trailing only current head coach Greg Toskos, who recorded 239 career points over his scholastic playing career. While the individual accolades kept coming for Sedlak as the season progressed and he climbed up the program's scoring leaderboard, it was the team success that the senior, who will now play with the NAHL's Shreveport Mud Bugs, cherishes most. Don Bosco won its first ever state championship in its fourth finals appearance, toppling the Delbarton dynasty with a 3-1 victory in the NJSIAA/NJ Devils Non-Public title game. It also won its second ever Gordon Cup and first since 2014, again against Delbarton, and won 27 games for the second consecutive season en route to a 27-1 record and a 24-game winning streak to cap off the season. Sedlak, with a senior class that included fellow captains Liam McLinskey and TJ Schweighardt along with Max Schwarz, Mark Garfinkel and Michael Forgione, knew the feeling of heartbreak after falling to the Green Wave in the Non-Public final the previous two seasons. "This senior class we had was really special. It's been special every year, especially the past few years. But we had all these three-, four-year varsity guys and that means every single one of them has dealt with that two-year stretch of heartbreak in our junior and sophomore years," Sedlak said. 'We were trying to reach that goal of winning of state championship knowing the history on the line. "This year, we had the mindset that we're not letting that (heartbreak) happen again. We know what it's like being on the losing side. It wasn't just a senior thing, it was a top-to-bottom thing. Everyone chipped in, everyone knew their role. The looseness on our team this year was the most special thing. Everyone was relaxed and relied on each other. It was just something different this year." Sedlak's final goal in a Don Bosco uniform, the final goal of the season for the team that helped the Ironmen finally reach that previously unattainable height, was what Toskos described as appropriate. And, as Sedlak raced toward the Don Bosco bench to celebrate after the empty netter, the senior captain pumped both fists to his side near the Devils logo at center ice as his way of letting the Ironmen of past and present that weight of never winning a state title was about to be lifted. "The best way to say it is that it's so fitting that (Sedlak) got the last goal of the year," Toskos said. "It put the game away and it was his 40th goal. You could see that the weight of the program was off everyone's back when he pumped his arms. "I couldn't be prouder of what he accomplished. Not just this year but in the four years of his career at Don Bosco. He's been the consummate professional hockey player. Prepared, worked so hard on and off the ice. My father even comments on how great of a player Tyler is. I'm so proud of the way his career ended." Added Sedlak, "Once I got around that defender, all I thought was 'this is really it.' We finally did it. I'll never forget that feeling."

TYLER SEDLAK OF DON BOSCO PREP IS THE NJ.COM 2018-19 PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Photo Credit: Andrew Mills