Joining the likes of athletic heroes Muhammad Ali, Willie Mays and Steve Young, MSU hockey player Steve Swistak will be one of 11,500 Olympic torchbearers carrying the flame across the country en route to February’s Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Swistak, a 19-year-old redshirt freshman, will run with the torch for one-fifth of a mile near his hometown of West Bloomfield on Jan. 6 - day No. 32 of the flame’s two-month, 46-state tour of the nation leading up to the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 8.
“To me, he represents what college athletics should be about,” said Swistak’s father, Len. “He works hard and he’s not necessarily getting a lot for it.
“We’re very proud of him, and I thought he needed some kind of recognition. He’s a good representative of young adults and it’ll be great for Michigan State, too.”
The right wing has never dressed for a game at MSU, but thanks to the nomination from his father, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee decided his academic and athletic résumé made him a worthy torchbearer.
Swistak, a pre-med sophomore, is part of MSU’s illustrious Medical Scholars Program, which guarantees admission to the College of Human Medicine upon graduation.
The program selects only 10 incoming freshmen from hundreds of applications each year.
“I had opportunities to go to other schools, but I chose Michigan State because of academics,” said Swistak, whose sister Stacy graduates from the Medical Scholars Program this month. “That’s what’s going to carry me on. I’m not going to be an NHL All-star or a draft pick.
“But just being a part of (the team) is great. Coming to the rink everyday, getting a skate, being with the guys. If I don’t get in the line-up, so be it.”
He said the details of the torch relay haven’t been disclosed to him yet, but he plans to take a light jog with the three-pound glass beacon and savor the moment - even if it only lasts a couple of minutes.
“It’ll be something I remember, rain or shine that day,” Swistak said. “I could just bask in the glory and walk real slow, but I think I’ll just jog it through and get it over with.
“Especially after everything that happened in September, it’s a great thing to be a part of. It’s another thing I can add to all my accomplishments that I can always cherish. It’s something I can tell my grandkids - it’s quite an honor.”
Swistak said he ultimately wants to be a surgeon. He said the Medical Scholars Program was instrumental in his decision to pick MSU over Harvard, Notre Dame and Michigan - all of which were courting him for hockey.
His brother, Mike, was on MSU’s team two years ago and their cousin, J.J. Swistak, is a junior forward for archrival U-M.
But Steve Swistak, a 6-foot-2, 190-pounder, doesn’t seem to be in head coach Ron Mason’s immediate plans. Swistak sat out last season as a redshirt after coming to MSU from Compuware of the North American Hockey League where he scored 17 goals and 24 assists in his final season. He has been a healthy scratch every game this season and said he has received no indication he’ll play soon.
Len Swistak said the lack of playing time hurts his son.
“It bothers him a lot,” he said. “It’s disappointing for him to put in all that effort and not get to play. Hopefully Mason will put him in for a game.
“But academics are a big issue for him. Before practices, he has to study his butt off for physiology classes and things like that. I think (being a torchbearer) is a testament to his achievements.”
Despite not inserting him in the line-up, Mason said he respects Swistak both for what he does on the ice and in the classroom.
“He’s a class kid,” Mason said. “He comes and works hard every day. He hasn’t had the chance to play much, but hey, I treasure players like him, I really do.
“If we need to call on him, obviously, he can do the job.”
Swistak’s teammates said he maintains a pretty low-profile around Munn Ice Arena. He’s so quiet, in fact, that many of MSU players were unaware of his Olympic honor.
“Oh really?” junior forward Troy Ferguson said Tuesday. “Wow, that’s great for him, but it really doesn’t surprise me. He’s a special kid - a really, really bright guy.”
