At the start of his final semester at St. Cloud State University, Nick Perbix told his professors he'd miss some classes toward the end of the year as he'd be moving on to play hockey at the professional level. 

The 24-year-old defenseman from Elk River, Minnesota, was in the midst of his fourth and final season with the Huskies, and in the last few months of having to balance school work with hockey. 

Perbix had just gotten back to campus after a minor disappointment over Christmas break, presumably not being selected for the 2022 United States men's Olympic hockey team. 

His agent had told him in late December 2021 that it might be possible, as the NHL had confirmed it would not send its players to the games in Beijing, extending the league's participation drought to eight years. 

After his agent's initial alert, Perbix didn't receive any updates. 

"Knowing that it (the games) started in early February, I assumed it didn't happen," Perbix said. "But, I didn't expect anything to happen."

Less than a month out from the games, Perbix got a call from his head coach at St. Cloud State, Brett Larson, who was also serving as an assistant coach for Team USA, asking Perbix to join the team. 

Beaming with excitement, Larson immediately told Perbix that he couldn't tell anyone except his family. At the time, he was out to dinner with friends and was visibly struggling to keep the big news under wraps. 

"I had to go back and eat dinner with all my buddies and not tell them that," Perbix said.
"I was freaking out inside and then they knew something was up. When I got home, I went straight to my room, called all my family." 

When the roster was announced a few days later, Perbix was preparing to have a similar conversation with his professors he had two weeks prior, but this time telling them he'd be out of school competing in the Olympics. 

"I was like, 'Hey, so I'm gonna be missing a little more class,' and they're like, 'Oh, what do you mean?'  and I had to explain I got picked to go to the Olympics," Perbix said.

"They all were excited for me and wanted to do whatever we could to work with me." 

Perbix was one of 15 college players selected for the 2022 Olympics and is one of just two Olympic veterans on the Nashville Predators roster, alongside Roman Josi, who competed in the 2014 games with Switzerland. 

However, unlike pros at the Olympics, Perbix faced two unique situations: balancing his schoolwork and COVID-19 restrictions. 

With COVID-19 still a year and a half away from being declared over, the 2022 games were on lockdown, meaning athletes were there solely to compete, with limited interaction with competitors from other sports.

"We (Team USA players) wanted to go see a bunch of the events and stuff, but because it was so closed down for COVID, we weren't able to go to the mountain or anything like that.

"It was kind of tough, but obviously the experience is still unbelievable." 

When Perbix was not playing, practicing, or trying to take in as much of the experience as he could, he was making sure to catch up on his assignments. 

"I had to do so many things to get ready," Perbix said. "I had two hours a day of Olympic stuff, then practice, and then assignments, because we just had to cram everything in there." 

He had prepared in advance, essentially cramming two weeks of schoolwork in the days leading up to the Olympics. Perbix still had to attend his Zoom classes, but he said it wasn't too much of a hassle to get up a little earlier. 

While it was a unique experience compared to past Olympics, Perbix had some memorable moments, including chatting it up with legendary snowboarder Shaun White. 

"Growing up, I feel like everyone knows Sean White and we were just kind of chatting with him at the Opening Ceremony," Perbix said. "They wanted to have us at the half pipe and watch them perform for a practice day...We couldn't get to the mountain, which we're all pretty bummed about.

"Just seeing some of those people that you watch the Olympics, and you're in awe. Then you see them in person, and you're, in a way, one of their peers." 

 There was a lot for Perbix to take in off the ice, even before the first game. Who he'd be facing and the experience as a player was a whole other story. 

Wanting to play in the NHL by the time the college season came to an end, there was no better test for Perbix than facing professionals in various leagues around Europe and the American Hockey League. 

The United States was in Group A with China, Canada and Germany. 

China's entire roster consisted of Kunlun Red Star players from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Germany's squad featured mainly players from the country's professional league: Deutsche Eishockey Liga. 

Canada had a similar look to the United States: college players, AHL players and European professionals. 

They weren't NHL players Perbix was facing, but these were athletes with pro size and speed that would test Perbix in his first season as a pro. 

"It definitely gave me a little bit of confidence for sure," Perbix said on playing in the games. "I went and played in the AHL right after that season, and I knew that was one less variable to worry about. I've already played against grown men. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle." 

Sure enough, after Perbix played his final game with St. Cloud State, he had signed an entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning and played his first season with the Syracuse Crunch.

On the ice, Perbix had a memorable moment in the US's game against Slovakia in the quarterfinals. The Americans lost to the Slovaks, 3-2, but Perbix had the primary assist to his St. Cloud State teammate, Sam Hentges, to take a 2-1 lead. 

It was his lone point of the tournament. 

There was also a 14-hour time difference between Beijing and Perbix's hometown, so text messages about the game would arrive hours after he had played it earlier that day. 

"We'd wake up to a bunch of messages and it was fun," Perbix said. 

With the NHL allowing players back into Olympic competition for the first time since 2014, four Predators players have been selected to play for their respective countries: Juuse Saros (Finland), Erik Haula (Finland), Filip Forsberg (Sweden) and Josi (Switzerland). 

Perbix won't be heading to the games this year, but wants his teammates to take in as much of the experience as they can, on and off the ice. 

"Obviously, some of them are bringing family over, and it's a different thing than what we had to deal with, but I loved going to whatever event we could," Perbix said. "Whether we go to curling or ski jump thing. Just seeing all of that was pretty cool."