Photo courtesy of Nolan Schaeffer Nolan Schaeffer awaits a face-off during a recent game for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. The Marshall native signed his National Letter of Intent last fall to play hockey at Robert Morris University.

MARSHALL – From his home state of Minnesota to the Great Plains of the Dakotas to interior region of Alaska, Nolan Schaeffer’s hockey journey has seen its share of destinations. And now, the 20-year-old Marshall native can add another stop to the list.

Last fall, Schaeffer took the step to his career when he officially committed to play hockey at Robert Morris University, a Division I program just outside of Pittsburgh.

Schaeffer said it was nice to be officially committed to Robert Morris.

“It was nice to get it over with,” Schaeffer said. “It’s something that I’ve been working on for a long time and to decide and know what’s going to happen next is a nice relief.”

Schaeffer said one of major decisions going into picking Robert Morris was the education.

“I’m going into business school, so the most important thing for me was the education,” Schaeffer said. “As for hockey, they’ve been very successful in the past and their head coach will still be there through my time which will be nice.”

Schaeffer, who has been playing hockey since he was little, got introduced to the sport because of his siblings, who also had a background of competing on the ice.

“My older brother played hockey for Marshall and my sister was a figure skater,” Schaeffer said. “So I decided to take up hockey as well.”

After leaving Marshall, Schaeffer entered the North American Hockey League, where he made his debut in La Crosse, Wisconsin playing for the Coulee Region Chill in 2014. After a brief stint with the Chill, Schaeffer then played for the Minnesota Magicians where he spent the entire 2014-15 season.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound defenseman then moved on to the United States Hockey League, where he spent the 2015-16 season playing for the Fargo Force.

Last season, Schaeffer moved to Alaska, where he joined the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. In 2016-17, he scored six goals and recorded eight assists in 53 games. This season, he currently has four goals and 11 assists in just 33 games.

Schaeffer said his coaches throughout the years have helped shape his career and improve his game from season to season.

“Each one of my coaches have picked up specific things that I can work on, like my footwork or making plays,” Schaeffer said. “It’s helped me develop into the player I am today.”

Schaeffer said coming from Marshall has helped him learn a lot both on and off the ice.

“Marshall is a great place to live and there’s a lot of great sports to play,” Schaeffer said. “They teach you to have goals and how to reach them and be successful.”

Before he makes the almost 1,000-mile trip to Moon, Pennsylvania to the campus of Robert Morris, Schaeffer is wrapping up his final season with the Ice Dogs.

Schaeffer said he’s looking forward to not just continuing to play hockey, but getting back into the lifestyle of being a student-athlete again.

“Honesty, I’m looking forward to getting back into the workload and lifestyle of school,” Schaeffer said. “Education is important to me and being able to play hockey is really important as well.”