Then his father walked out.
John Weisbrod V had always worshipped John Weisbrod IV, and the elder Weisbrod had always encouraged the younger's interest in hockey. It was Weisbrod IV who bought season tickets to the beloved Rangers and the hated Islanders.
"My father was without question my main motivator," Weisbrod says. "He was an inspiration to me. He instilled the kind of character you need to be an athlete in me when I was young. He was my idol. He's the one who got me going and kept me going. He's very responsible for me being the kind of hockey player I am now."
After his father left his family--"without warning, for no apparent reason," according to Weisbroad--the Woodbury native decided he could not leave his mother, Patricia, alone in the East. Suddenly, Harvard was the obvious alternative. He already had two sisters in the Boston area--one at B.C., one at Springfield College. And the Crimson's hockey program was already a force in the ECAC.
"I wouldn't have come here unless I thought we'd have a reasonable chance of winning a national title," the Kirkland House resident says. "There are a lot of great hockey players here that are really into school--they're true student-athletes. I couldn't honestly call myself that without a smirk on my face. My first priority was to pick a school that would be on the doorstep of a championship. I would never, never go to a school that was going to go 3-25."
He came to Cambridge in emotional turmoil, but he took his frustrations out on the ice, scoring seven goals in his first seven varsity games before a crippling knee injury forced him to watch the Crimson from the press box. By that time, he was estranged completely from his father and has not seen him or spoken to him since. That was the hardest period of his life.
Harvard Associate Coach Ronn Tomassoni realized that Weisbrod had a lot on his mind. He called him into his office and provided support as Weisbrod broke down and got his troubles off his chest.
"If I were in the pros, playing in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where hockey's a business, no one would care what was going on with my family or anything else, as long as I was out there on the ice," Weisbrod says.
Personal loyalty keeps Weisbrod at Harvard despite yearly contract offers from the North Stars. He will not rule out turning pro after the season, but says his present plans include graduation.
"I'm not an Ivy League kind of student, and I don't get into the social atmosphere as much as some people here," he says. "I can't say that I love the school, but I can say without question that I love every person in the hockey program, every player and every coach. I'd go through a wall for any oneof them. I think a lot of us feel that way. And Ithink that's why we were so successful last year."
Ah, last year. After his freshman year injury,Weisbrod came back to Cambridge in 1988 "ready toexplode." And explode he did, tallying 22 times toplace third on the team goal-scoring list despitehis exclusion from the power play unit.
This year, Harvard Coach Bill Cleary has placedWeisbrod on a line with his two best friends onthe team, junior wing Mike Vukonich and Ciavaglia.And he will join the man-up squad as well.
Weisbrod describes himself as a moderatelyskilled "plugger" who scores goals by being in theright place at the right time. Speed may not behis forte, but he is selling himself short.
"He's a big, strong player who can reallyskate," Cleary says. "I think he has the abilityto play [in the NHL].
They look for guys with size who can put thepuck in the net."
Weisbrod may have the best shot of any ofHarvard's superstars to make it in the NHL. Unlikehis former teammates who are trying their handabroad, Weisbrod is much better suited to theclose-checking NHL game than the wide-openEuropean style.
"I'm going to make a run at the NHL," Weisbrodvows. "I'd rather play ten years in the minorsthan play in Europe. That's always been my dream,what I've aspired to. I don't think I'd get muchpersonal satisfaction playing abroad. I'd feellike I was selling out on my goal."
Weisbrod's goal hasn't changed, but hispersonal satisfaction will never be the same.
"It's hard for me now when I succeed in hockeybecause part of my success was my dad being thereto support me in my achievements," he says. "Now,it's a totally different thing with him not in thepicture any more."