Matt English shaped the way Lee Stempniak plays hockey.

And Stempniak, the captain from West Seneca, N.Y., shapes the way the Dartmouth men’s hockey team plays the game.

English was Stempniak’s coach for seven years as the Dartmouth forward developed in West Seneca youth hockey and then for two years with the Buffalo Lightning of the Ontario Provincial Junior Amateur Hockey League (OPJAHL) before he came to Dartmouth four years ago.

“Matt’s a hard-nosed guy who made me a hockey player,” said Stempniak, the Big Green’s All-America forward. “He made me think about the little things that make you a better player. He taught me to stick my nose into the play, to go for the puck and the net, to always give something extra, to pay the price.”

It’s a style of play that prompted the St. Louis Blues to pick Stempniak in the fifth round of the 2003 NHL draft. And, it’s a style that has made him a key among many talented players on this Dartmouth team, though he’s says it’s his linemates for the past two seasons, center Mike Ouellette and now-injured winger Hugh Jessiman, who have elevated his performance.

“I’m not a rah-rah guy,” said Stempniak, the Green’s leading point producer for the past two seasons. “I want the team to see me working hard, on the ice and in the weight room.

In fact, he prefers to defer recognition to Ouellette and Jessiman. “They’ve made plays that make me look good,” he said. “A player is only as good as the team.

“Mike and I feed off each other. I don’t like to use the word, but Mike is really a warrior. He does so many things to help us win.”

And Jessiman, Stempniak feels, is still invaluable, even though he’s probably lost for the season with an ankle injury.    

“Hugh is a ‘team first’ guy,” said Stempniak. “He’s become an observer, giving us pointers, looking for tendencies and helping us see the game from a different perspective.”

“Lee is an honest and humble person,” said Coach Bob Gaudet. “He never calls attention to himself. He’s as excited with someone else’s success as he is with his own.   

“He’s been a go-to guy on this team since his freshman year. Lee is a big-game player who seems to make huge plays that carry the team in important games.

“He’s the most skilled player and the hardest worker on our team. He makes everyone on our team better.”

Playing for English and the Lightning in the OPJAHL set the stage for Stempniak’s career at Dartmouth.

“We were the only U.S. team in the league,” he said. “That allowed me to live at home and stay in high school.” He graduated as valedictorian of his class at St. Francis High and has won numerous academic distinctions, including the Dartmouth Class of 1948 Scholar-Athlete Award.

He had contact from a couple of colleges, but it was assistant coach Brendan Whittet who saw his potential while watching the Lightning play in a tournament and invited Stempniak to visit Dartmouth.

“I fell in love with the place,” he said. “It was a hockey program on the rise. I hadn’t seen any other colleges but couldn’t picture myself being happier anywhere else.”

Stempniak is the Blues’ property when he graduates and he wants to pursue pro hockey, but the economics major also envisions a career in business.    

“I’m a student who’s also an athlete,” he said. “I came to Dartmouth to learn. Ten years from now I want to be sure that I maximized my opportunities.”        

Again, he’s quick to share recognition. “This is a team with a lot of very bright guys,” he said. “(Goalie Dan) Yacey, Ouellette and (freshman forward David) Jones were all valedictorians of their (secondary school) classes. We talk about many things besides hockey.”         

On the ice, it’s a team that plays with intelligence and “hockey smarts.” And Stempniak, the captain who, as Gaudet says, “…has the rare ability to make something out of nothing on the ice,” has proven to be the perfect leader on all counts.