Gajic chose lacrosse life over hockey
By Paul Willis, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published January 24, 2008 at 12:45 a.m.
He is trading in his dreams of a Stanley Cup for those of a Champion's Cup, his pursuits of thriving in a league where Wayne Gretzky once flourished to one in which Gary Gait once did.
It was perhaps the most challenging decision Nenad Gajic had encountered, but the Mammoth forward believes he has made the correct choice - lacrosse instead of hockey.
Like many youngsters growing up in Canada - especially those who excel at hockey - Gajic's principal ambition was to play in the NHL.
Unlike many, the dream didn't die young. He played his freshman season of 2002-03 at Michigan State before transferring to Nebraska Omaha. Gajic was beginning his senior season last winter when he was forced to make a life-altering choice.
Eight games into the season, the Mammoth, with its season looming, offered him a contract. As difficult as it was, Gajic left behind his remaining hockey eligibility and joined the National Lacrosse League.
"I think at the end of the day, I just had to consider where I'd be in the next five or 10 years of my life," said Gajic, who tallied seven goals and 15 assists in 53 career college hockey games. "It's not like a picked a sport I didn't love because I've been playing lacrosse since I was 4 or 5 years old. That was the easy part. The hard part was leaving hockey."
Gajic didn't see himself rapidly advancing up the pro hockey ladder, but a 10-year career in the NLL didn't seem all that unfathomable.
"It was either being a lifer in the minor professional (hockey) leagues or come here and play in front of 18,000 people," said Gajic, whose Mammoth (2-0) visit Portland (0-1) at 8:30 MST tonight.
He remains enrolled at Nebraska Omaha but is taking off this semester. Last season, he continued to attend class - and manage a sports bar near campus - while playing for the Mammoth.
Gajic, who has one goal and two assists this season, has exhibited the skills that make those around him believe his pursuit of a decadelong NLL career undoubtedly is attainable.
"Nenad Gajic is an extremely athletic, extremely intelligent player," Mammoth general manager Steve Govett said of the all-rookie-team selection last year. "This is a guy who could be around for 10 years."
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