ORONO — Since his arrival at the University of Maine in 1984, hockey coach Shawn Walsh has always put diverse, multicultural teams on the ice.

There are usually players from at least four different Canadian provinces and five different U.S. states.

But the Bears have taken on a European flair this year.

Maine has six Europeans on its roster, three more than the previous high of a year ago.

Walsh said the decision was made to send assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Grant Standbrook to Europe a year ago because of the NCAA predicament.

The NCAA had issued sanctions against the school for a variety of violations, primarily within the hockey program.

“We didn’t get a real jump-start on our recruiting because we didn’t know the total effect of the NCAA violations [on our recruiting],” explained Walsh. “We thought it would affect the minds of the top kids in North America but we didn’t think it would affect the minds of the top European players. So we made a calculated decision to head to Europe and spend some money there.”

Standbrook said he had a couple of former players coaching in Europe, “so I tapped that natural resource.”

Three of the six Europeans, freshman left wing Tuomo Jaaskelainen of Helsinki, Finland; freshman center Matthias Trattnig of Graz, Austria; and sophomore defenseman Robert Ek of Lulea, Sweden, have played in all seven games to date.

Freshman center Anders Lundback, also of Lulea, has played in six and junior right wing Marcus Gustafsson of Knivsta, Sweden, just returned after missing four games with a sprained ankle.

Lundback’s twin brother, winger Magnus, has yet to crack the lineup.

Trattnig has five points; Lundback four; Jaaskelainen three and Gustafsson one.

Standbrook was no stranger to Europe as he has coached several U.S. national teams that toured Europe. He was also a head coach of an Italian League team.

He said the Scandinavian players begin formalized training regimens when they are “12 or 13 years old” and it pays significant dividends as they are more developed than the typical North American youngster.

“A lot of their training drills involve competitions. They use the natural forest, hills and rocks. They do a lot of bounding and jumping exercises along with explosive movements,” said Standbrook, who has utilized several of those drills during his dry-land training.

Walsh and Standbrook have been elated with the early returns on their investment.

“It has really paid off,” said Walsh. “They are not only good players, they are good people who are appreciative of what they get. I’ve been tickled by the impact they’ve had.”

Standbrook added, “Their skills are exceptional.”

The Europeans have had to make adjustments both on the ice and off.

They are all used to playing on the Olympic-sized sheets in their homelands and are making the transition to the smaller rinks in North America. Some have played extensively in North America.

Trattnig, for example, played a year in Quebec and spent last year playing for Jim Salfi’s Capital District Selects (N.Y.).

“The rinks are a lot smaller and everything happens a lot quicker,” said Anders Lundback. “There’s a lot more hitting and you have to go to the net all the time. You don’t get that many scoring chances in a game so you have to capitalize.

“But it has gotten easier each game,” added Anders, who is 15 minutes older than brother Magnus.

“The tempo is faster here because they don’t have the red line [for two-line passes],” Jaaskelainen said.

Even though they all speak English and Swedish — Swedes take English as a second language beginning in fourth grade — the language barrier is still considered a major obstacle.

Gustafsson said it can be difficult to “listen and write [in English] at the same time, especially in the big lecture halls. If they’re talking about psychology, they’ll sometimes use words I’ve never heard before. By the time you ask yourself `What’s that mean,?’ they’ve spoken another two sentences and you’ve got to catch up.”

Magnus Lundback added, “I’m embarrassed to talk in front of a lot of people.”

Walsh said he has had to take the language barrier into consideration when he addresses them.

“I tend to speak fast and assume everybody understands. I’ve had to slow down a little and do some verbal illustrations,” said Walsh.

The Europeans said the school systems in their native countries are challenging so they have been able to adjust to the academic rigors at Maine.

The other major difference, according to the players, is the food.

“I love Austrian food. My parents make really good food. The cafeteria food here is awful,” said Trattnig.

“They eat a lot more junk food over here,” said Anders Lundback.

“A lot of fried foods,” offered twin brother Magnus.

Gustafsson said the Swedes eat big breakfasts, unlike a lot of North Americans.

“We never skip breakfast. That gets me going for the whole day. But, here, they get up and just have a cup of coffee for breakfast,” said Gustafsson, who likes a healthy serving of oatmeal for breakfast.

Ek lives off campus this year so he has the freedom to pick and choose his meals.

The Europeans, particularly the Swedes, have found American people to be different.

“Americans are more open and more friendly. They are more outgoing. I’m a typical Swede. I tend to stick more to myself,” said Ek.

“People here are extremely nice. They always have a good word for you,” said Anders Lundback. “In Sweden, people keep to themselves and don’t speak to strangers as much.”

Walsh said the Europeans have a tendency “to keep their emotions inside. I like an up-front-look-me-in-the-eye-type person so I’ve had to work with them on that.”

The players said they aren’t used to playing in front of the large crowds they have witnessed at the Alfond Arena and at the University of Minnesota.

“I like it. It’s fun to play in front of a big crowd,” said Jaaskelainen.

They also said having other Europeans going through the same experiences has helped them individually.

“It’s hard to be away from your family and friends but we’ve got a close-knit team and we’re all happy here, I think,” said Gustafsson.

The rugged Maine winters will pose no problems, especially for the players from Lulea.

“Lulea is right on the Arctic Circle,” pointed out Ek.

“Our winters are cold and long with a lot of snow,” said Magnus Lundsback.

Sound familiar?