Samberg stronger, faster & more confident after freshman year

It's been a heck of a ride for defenceman Dylan Samberg since he was drafted in the second round by the Winnipeg Jets almost one year ago.
The Hermantown, MN product won bronze representing the United States at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Buffalo and later added the NCAA title during his freshman year at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, scoring one goal and 13 points along the way after making the jump from high school to college.
"It's a good year to reflect back on," Samberg told WinnipegJets.com. "Take some good, learn from the bad; I enjoyed this year. I've been lucky. These last two years have been really good to me, so hopefully moving forward I can continue to have that good luck."

Samberg was ranked 67th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting heading into the draft last year. The Jets ended up taking him with the 43rd pick, and Samberg still looks back on that moment as one of the most memorable times of his life.
"I was there with my coaches, my parents and some of my friends," he recalled. "One of my buddies, Ryan Sandelin (son of UMD coach Scott) was the first one to pop up, and he was really happy for me. I could see it on his face. We've been best friends since I can remember, and it was just a special moment for him to be there with me."
The bruising, 6-foot-3, 211-pound blueliner wasn't just satisfied with hearing his name called, though. He got right back to business after the weekend in Chicago, knowing the journey had truly just begun.

"Just because you got selected doesn't mean that you're entitled to everything," Samberg said. "You have to put in a lot of hard work just to get there and you have to put in even more hard work to stay there. I knew I was coming into UMD after that point, and I knew I had put in a lot of hard work in throughout (last) summer because it was going to be a big jump from high school to the college game.
"I've started to fill out in my body and become faster and stronger," he added when asked what has changed about him in the past year. "I've simplified my game and I feel like my confidence level kind of boosted when I went to the World Juniors. I played well there and when I came back to UMD, I kind of rolled with that confidence and I feel like it really helped my game overall."

Samberg says he has watched the draft in years past if he's around a TV, but gets Twitter notifications on his phone to keep in the loop. He will keep an eye on this year's event in Dallas because he knows a couple of the eligible players like forward Brady Tkachuk of Boston University and Michigan defenceman Quinn Hughes. Both players are ranked in the Top 10 and were teammates of Samberg's on at the World Juniors.
"I'm sure they'll do well," he said.
As for the Jets hat and jersey he received on stage at the United Center, it's in a special place at the Samberg residence.
"We got it framed and it's in our basement downstairs - a real cool collectible, I'd say. The hat is right there alongside it."