New England Hockey Journal

CONNOR BRICKLEY | KEVIN ROY | BOB ROTONDO
November 2015
2015-16 D3 College PReVIeW
The Trinity College Bantams
are primed for a serious
Frozen Four repeat bid
VIEW
TOP
FROM THE
Trinity junior forward
Ethan Holdaway
(Glastonbury, Conn./
Westminster School)
JUNIoRS
FOREIGNDIPLOMACY
GREAT SPEED STARTS WITH A GREAT FIT
CCMHOCKEY.COM/JETSPEED
JUNIORS
n European Eagles take
detour through USPHL to give unheralded players a fighting chance at college hockey
T
he path to college hockey
hasn’t always been clear
for European players in
the United States Premier
Hockey League, but there
at last is a distinct landing spot and
home for the dozens of dream chasers.
The first-year Okanagan European
Eagles, an extension of the Okanagan
Hockey Group, employ an all-European
roster. Players call the likes of Austria,
Sweden, Slovenia, Belarus and Latvia
home, and are all eager to become a part
of the NCAA D1 or D3 ranks.
“One hundred percent the reason why
I left my country and am here is to play
college hockey and get these four extra
years of high-quality games to hopefully play professionally after that,” said
Cian Derder, a Swiss forward on the European Eagles. “The U.S. schools are the
only one that offer such a good college
hockey experience. I think this is one of
the best leagues I can be in for exposure,
largely because of the scouts at showcases.”
With a geographically diverse 25-man
roster, the European Eagles provide a comprehensive opportunity that hasn’t existed
in years past. They’re based out of the Foxboro Sports Center in Foxboro, Mass., and
have a unique schedule. They’re presently
in the midst of a 10-week season, which
FOREIGN
DIPLOMACY
will be followed by a monthlong break and
then a six-week conclusion to their Premier Division slate.
During that time, the primary purpose is securing college recruitment, but
their exposure to a wide array of schools
extends beyond the rink.
“Coaches come to watch our league
and then the other thing is we’re taking
them around and visiting schools,” said
Oly Hicks, the team’s head coach. “We’ve
already visited Babson, we’ve visited Sacred Heart, and Southern Maine and the
38 NEw ENGLAND HOCKEY JOURNAL November 2015
University of New England. We’ve got
more lined up, and it’s great for them to
meet the coaches and see what all the
campuses are like.”
The European Eagles’ experience
does not end there. The players live at
the Holiday Inn in Mansfield, Mass., during their stateside stay. On a typical day,
they eat breakfast at the hotel, have practice in the morning and do strength and
conditioning exercises in the afternoon.
There is a fair share of down time, but
the players are kept busy academically.
They’re enrolled in an SAT prep course,
all with the goal of enhancing their already impressive scholastic backgrounds.
“I would say all of the kids, with the
exception of maybe two or three, are A
students,” Hicks said. “They’re all really strong in school and are all English
second language, but they’re all pretty
much A students. Most of them have
taken the SAT already and academically
are college candidates.”
While the team’s structure is straightforward and goal-oriented, the European
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Dave Arnold/New England Hockey Journal
By Jonathan Sigal
2016 HOCKEY SCHOOLS & CLINICS
“BRINGING OUT THE BEST”
SCHOOL S
N
LOCATIO
 The Okanagan European Eagles take on the
Junior Bruins in a recent USPHL tilt in Foxboro,
Mass. From top left, Felix Brunner in front of
Bruins goalie Ian Milosz; Bruins player Jacob
Schmidt-Svejstrup battles with Eagles’ Daniel
Leisser; Bruins’ Peter-Owen Hayward shoots
on Raphael Ungar; coach Oly Hicks gives a
pregame talk; Swiss forward Cian Derder.
Eagles still encounter several obstacles. Chiefly, the European game and
North American game differ so drastically, making the transition difficult for
some.
“Players from Europe need to play
in the North American game if they
intend to play college hockey,” Elias
Vorlicek, director of Okanagan Hockey
Europe, said. “The size of the ice surface and the aggressive nature on the
small ice needs to be adapted to, to increase the chances of playing in North
America in the future for our players.”
Hicks echoed Vorlicek’s sentiments
wholeheartedly and added that the European game often focuses on technical ability rather than North America’s
physical approach.
“The style of play, the culture, the
type of people, all that’s different,” he
said. “How it’s played, how it’s refereed, how the guys play, the ice size, the
skating and many more things. A lot of
, Mass.
Foxboro
, Vt.
Highgate
osa,
Santa R
Calif.
rway
Oslo, No
Helsinki,
Finland
,
Hingham
Mass.
, Mass.
Kingston
“POWE
RFU
SKILLS L
for PEA
K
PERFO
RMAN
CE”
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people also think the European game is
slower, so the quickness of play and the
fact you’re allowed to be more physical
and more pugnacious stands out.”
The Eagles’ roster, which extends
from the 1995 to 1998 birth year, was
pieced together mere weeks before the
Continued on Page 40
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GARRYHEBERT.COM
November 2015
www.hockeyjournal.com 39
Continued from Page 39
season started. Roughly half came through the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Vienna, Austria; a quarter of
the players were scouted from a tryout in June; and the
remaining quarter came by word of mouth.
Some are away from home for the first time, which,
when coupled with the an inherent language barrier,
creates an obstacle that other USPHL teams simply
don’t encounter.
“The language was a barrier at first in the locker
room because it was all Swedish, Russian, French, German, just so many
different languages,” Derder said.
“At first it was the
Russians
staying
with the Russians
and such, but Coach
made an English
rule pretty quick.”
Hicks’ language
rule eased the cultural differences, as
did the example set
by European players who already
have made a lasting
impact on college
hockey.
Hicks
singled
out Andreas Nodl,
who played at St. Cloud State, as a shining example
for the Austrians. After two seasons in college, Nodl
moved on to the AHL and ultimately the Philadelphia
Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes.
Derder said Ryan McGregor, a fellow Swiss player, is
someone he wants to emulate. The 24-year-old forward
played for four seasons at Harvard University and now
is in the Swiss National League B.
All things considered, the European Eagles are admittedly in the rudimentary stages of their USPHL
journey. There undoubtedly is room for growth, and
Vorlicek is hopeful the current crop of trailblazers can
entice more collegiate hopefuls in years to come.
At the end of the day, though, the European Eagles
have the same dreams and goals as every other player
USPHL. Their home might be located in the Czech
Republic as opposed to New Jersey, but they, too, are just
hoping for a college coach to give them a chance.
“For some of them it’s realistic, for some of them it’s
a stretch, but they want to see what it’s all about,” Hicks
said. “They want to see what
junior hockey is like and
want to play it and live it. For
many, then going on to college hockey … it’s a pretty
NAMe
PoS.
similar story to an American
Matt Demelis
F
kid. This is just providing
more of an opportunity to
Spencer Knight
G
the European kids than they
Neil Shea
F
would normally have.”
Matt Thomson
LW
[email protected]
40 NEw ENGLAND HOCKEY JOURNAL November 2015
Dave Arnold/New England Hockey Journal
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Recruiting Trail
Email [email protected]
lAST TeAM/N.e. HoMeToWN
College
Boston Advantage/Hingham, Mass.
Northeastern ’19
Mid-Fairfield Junior Rangers/Darien, Conn.
Boston College ’20
Neponset Valley River Rats/Marshfield, Mass. Maine ’18
Reading H.S./Reading, Mass.
Northeastern ’18
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