LEWISTON — When Falmouth senior Isac Nordstrom was informed that he was a finalist for the 2015 Travis Roy Award, he was both honored and nervous. 

He was honored to be recognized as one of the top seniors in Class A hockey, but nervous because that meant writing a speech. A speech written and presented in English, which isn’t his native language. 

Born in Sundsvall, Sweden, Nordstrom moved to Maine four years ago when his father, Patrik, was transferred by his employer, Imerys, a multinational company that specializes in the production and processing of industrial minerals. The Nordstrom family settled on Falmouth as their new home and Isac became a Yachtsmen. 

Nordstrom reaped the benefits of that move as he helped Falmouth win back-to-back state titles in 2013-14. On Sunday afternoon, Nordstrom added another piece of hardware to his high school hockey trophy case, winning the Travis Roy Award during the year-end banquet at the Lewiston Ramada Inn. Nordstrom became the second player from Falmouth to win the award, joining Peter Gustavson in 2005. 

“I was nervous coming up to the podium and having my speech, but it feels really good right now,” Nordstrom said. “I really don’t have words for it, but I want to thank my teammates and my coaches for bringing me here — and it’s been great. Also my parents. Without their support, I wouldn’t be here.” 

St. Dominic Academy’s Brad Berube, South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport’s Andrew Whipple and Lawrence/Skowhegan’s Cody Martin were the other finalists for the award. 

All four finalists were born after Travis Roy, who played for both Yarmouth and North Yarmouth Academy, suffered a career-ending spinal injury just 11 seconds into his first shift with Boston University and all four mentioned him in their speeches. 

Nordstrom’s journey to winning the Travis Roy Award, given to the top senior athlete in Class A hockey, didn’t come without its share of adversity. It started well before he began playing hockey. Nordstrom almost never laced up the skates. 

He was born blind in his left eye and doctors told him his coordination would be affected as a result. For a year, Nordstrom wore a patch over his right eye in an effort to strengthen the vision in his right eye. After two years, he had vision in both eyes, but his stereopsis — the ability to perceive depth and three-dimensional structure — was forever diminished. 

That didn’t keep Nordstrom’s father from teaching his son the sport of hockey, despite doctors telling him that Isac should avoid playing sports. On the frozen ponds of Sweden, Nordstrom began skating at four and the rest is history. 

The challenges didn’t stop, however. The move to a new and unfamiliar country at 14 was scary for Nordstrom, who didn’t know how to read or write the English language. 

“The first couple months was pretty tough,” Nordstrom said. “I didn’t know the language too well, but I just had to work through it. It’s just like hockey, you have to bear down to get better, so that’s what I did. I got a lot of help from the teachers and from my friends.” 

As far as hockey is concerned, he had to adjust to the smaller rink and the more physical style of play. Two state titles, two first-team all-state selections and a Travis Roy Award later, Nordstrom’s been able to make that adjustment. 

“There’s a lot of history there,” Falmouth coach Deron Barton said. “Really good memories, really good kid. From day one when I met him I knew he was going to be a success. He works hard in the offseason, he’s very respectful, he’s well-liked by his teammates and he’s just a great leader without any effort. I’m super happy for him.” 

Despite playing in just 13 regular season games due to suffering a lower-body injury — an injury he was initially told was season-ending — Nordstrom, serving as team captain, finished the regular season with 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists). In his first game back from injury, he scored twice and recorded two assists in a 13-0 victory over Thornton Academy. Nordstrom had six-multi goal games and registered two six-point games. 

Nordstrom led the Yachtsmen in power-play goals and was second in both game-winning goals and plus-minus. 

“He’s an impact player no matter how or where,” Barton said. “The real piece of it is he’s a well-rounded player. He plays as good as anyone I’ve seen in the Falmouth system in his own end. As much as he’s a threat on offense he’s a very, very strong plus-minus player. That pays tribute to his overall talent.” 

Off the ice, Nordstrom has volunteered his time with the Opportunity Skate program, a skating-based outreach program, at the Family Ice Center in Falmouth as well as helping to feed the homeless at St. Elizabeth’s pantry and St. Luke’s church. 

Nordstrom plans to attend prep school and has offers to play hockey at Kimball Union (N.H.), Cushing Academy (Mass.) and Kent Hill School.

Berube finished as one of the three runners-up and thanked his teammates, coaches and family during his speech, including Caleb Labrie, who was a semifinalist for the award. He talked about how being apart of three teams that appeared in the state championship is something that he will always remember and cherish. Throughout his four years at St. Dom’s, Berube said he’s learned various attributes in life that are more valuable than winning a state title. 

“If you look deeper into the little things that make up the sport and the team you play on, that’s where you find what truly shapes and marks you as a person, such as the leadership and the friendships that are created throughout sports, the fans, ranging from young to old, watching you play and the life lessons that are created are somethings that each player will be able to carry out for the rest of their lives,” Berube said. 

The Travis Roy Award was the final award handed out at Sunday’s banquet, but there were plenty of other players receiving accolades for their work on the ice. Eleven local athletes received first-team, all-state honors, while 10 others were named second-team all-state. 

Lewiston’s Jeromey Rancourt, Brendon Croteau and Kyle Morin were named first-team all-state forwards along with St. Dom’s Austin Roy, Labrie and Berube. On defense, Lewiston’s Joey Frechette and Jonathan Sturgis, St. Dom’s Mitch Lorenz and Edward Little’s Ben Steele were named first-team all-state. Edward Little’s Devin Dumont received first-team, all-state goaltending honors. 

Edward Little’s Liam Benson and Branden Dyer, as well as Lewiston’s Griffin Wade, St. Dom’s Adam Poulin and Poland/Gray-New Gloucester/Oak Hill’s Ethan Cailler garnered second-team all-state honors as forwards. Edward Little’s Cade Chapman, St. Dom’s Gavin Bates and Poland/Gray-New Gloucester/Oak Hill’s Isaiah Dubois were named second-team all-state defensemen. Lewiston’s Nick Hawk and St. Dom’s Ridge Servidio were second-team all-state goaltenders. 

Lewiston’s Jamie Belleau was named East co-coach of the year with Lawrence/Skowhegan’s Ted Fabian.