When Guus van Nes was living in the Netherlands at 17 years old, he decided to change his career trajectory.

Van Nes said he outgrew his home country’s level of hockey, so the left-handed shooter took a chance at advancing in the U.S. through its junior and college circuits. 

In 2014, van Nes took the leap to the U.S. He joined the Boston Junior Bruins, an amateur hockey program in Marlborough, Massachusetts, because of a connection from his hockey coach in the Netherlands.

Van Nes had to adjust to North American hockey — the rinks are tighter in the U.S. than in Europe, leading to more physical play. 

After spending four seasons with the Junior Bruins, van Nes went to Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. The 6-foot-3 winger redshirted in 2018-19 then competed in 93 contests over three seasons, totaling 10 goals and 27 assists. 

“I think the biggest thing at Quinnipiac that I learned there was details,” van Nes said. “I think they do a good job there. They always focus on detail. Every practice is treated like a game. So, I think that prepares you very well for pro, and that’s why you see so many pros coming out of Quinnipiac.” 

In van Nes’ three seasons playing as a Bobcat, Quinnipiac went 70-26-9 and made the NCAA Tournament twice. Last season, the Bobcats advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals. 

Timeline by Isaac Goffin/The Daily Iowan

Now, the 25-year-old is heading into his first professional season under an ECHL contract with the Heartlanders. 

“He knows what it takes to be a pro,” Iowa Heartlanders head coach Damon said. “We think just continuing to work on his development. There’s a lot more that he’s going to grow this year, with his size, with his skating ability, with his reach. Those are things you can’t teach.” 

Van Nes said he signed with the Heartlanders because of the hard-working nature of the franchise. Damon thinks van Nes can fit in the culture because of the size and length of his game.

“He’s a guy that loves to play below the hash marks in the offensive zone,” Damon said. “If he has the hash marks in the offensive zone, that means he’s playing his game, and that’s where he’s effective.” 

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Van Nes said he was a little nervous to join the Heartlanders at first, but he remembered he’s been a new teammate multiple times. 

Goaltender Corbin Kaczperski was one of the first teammates van Nes met. Both players came into town just before training camp started and live in Hawks Ridge apartments in Iowa City. Because van Nes didn’t bring a car to Iowa, Kaczperski drove him to a store to pick up essentials.

“He’s got a great release,” Kaczperski said, “So I know those first couple days when we were out there, he was picking corners, and he was doing his thing. He’s going to be a really good addition for us this year, I think. He can move the puck, he shoots well. He’s got all the facets we need out there.”