By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com

More photos from this shoot

Photo: John Greenwood / staff The Quad City Flames' Brad Farynuk (20) assists teammate Aki Seitsonen (15) in keeping the puck away from the Iowa Chops' Ajay Baines on Friday night at the i wireless Center.

If you are a skilled defenseman, chances are Brad Farynuk is watching closely, using his mechanically inclined mind as a tool to dissect your best moves and reassemble them into an ideal model to emulate.

If it sounds like the Quad City Flames' defenseman is some kind of mechanical and aerospace engineer, there's a reason for that.

He is.

Farynuk took to academics -- especially math -- at a young age. He skipped second grade, and at age 14 already was pondering a career in mechanical engineering. That goal was set into motion and eventually came to fruition during a four-year stint at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute -- an ivy-league caliber school in Troy, N.Y.

He left RPI with degrees in both mechanical and aerospace engineering.

Oh, and he played hockey, too.

"College was a lot of work," Farynuk said. His roommate for all four years was also a hockey teammate, Scott Romfo -- a biomedical engineering major who later played with Farynuk on the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays.

"Honestly, we both agreed -- we did better in school when we were playing hockey and we didn't have any free time," Farynuk said. "We were on such a schedule and time-line."

So did hockey suffer?

"On Friday, we noticed my play wasn't quite there," Farynuk said. "I was doing homework until 11:30 p.m. or 12 a.m. the night before and then having to get practices and workouts in -- Saturday I was usually a better hockey player. That was my hockey day."

He said his parents served as inspiration for his ability to balance sports and academics.

His father, Marvin Farynuk, was a heavy-duty logging machinery mechanic for years until he took over ownership of Skylead Logging about 10 years ago. His mom, Sandra Farynuk, works at the public library in the Farynuks' small hometown of Enderby, B.C.

"If I wanted to play hockey, and I wanted to play rugby, and I wanted to play baseball, and go fishing with my father on the weekends -- they definitely gave me a huge foundation for a lot of my morals later in life and emphasizing hard work and hitting the books," Farynuk said.

Since graduating in 2006, Farynuk has become somewhat of a hockey journeyman. He has played with three ECHL teams -- the Dayton Bombers and the Stockton Thunder in addition to the Stingrays. He's also frequently been up and down to the AHL to play for the Syracuse Crunch and the Springfield Falcons before the QC Flames.

He said he's probably been up and down 15 times in his career.

"It's part of putting in your time and hopefully getting that confidence and playing a regular shift every night to keep the ball rolling," Farynuk said.

And if the years pass and he doesn't find a home in hockey, Farynuk has the tools to find a home in the business world. Graduates from RPI often end up at Boeing, Northrop Grumman, GE Aircraft Engines or Lockheed Martin.

"I had the opportunity to get a full scholarship there, and that sort of changed my life," Farynuk said. "I was fortunate to feel the college atmosphere, open up some doors and go on to play pro."

Brad Farynuk Age: 27

Hometown: Enderby, B.C.

Position: Defenseman

Acquired by the QCFlames: Farynuk is on a pro-tryout agreement, up from the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.

With the Flames: Farynuk has a goal, 2 assists and 10 PIM in 12 games.