Reed Delainey’s trajectory in the game of hockey continues to trend upwards.
After being named to the Canada West training camp roster for the World Junior A challenge in Kindersley, and on pace to more than double his offensive output from last season, Delainey has committed to play for the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers beginning in 2016.
“I’d been talking to them since the SJHL showcase and every week since then until now,” Delainey said.
North Stars head coach Kevin Hasselberg says it’s a long process to gain a scholarship and Delainey deserves a lot of credit.
“He’s worked hard the last couple years since joining us,” he said. “I think his skills and his determination is what got him where he wants to get to.”
RIT wasn’t the only option for the Glaslyn native, however.
“I talked to I think nine schools in total, with the main ones being Colgate and RIT,” he said. “Some were more interested than others, a couple I just talked to once and that was it. Colgate and RIT I talked to every week.”
Hasselberg says having a good support system in place helps players make decisions on what path to take.
“You lean on everybody. It starts with the showcase event, that’s the first part, you have to get noticed,” he said. “You have to do the job in the classroom and you have to do the job on the ice, and he was able to bring both of those key components together and that’s why he’s going to a very good school.”
Top-tier Junior A players like Delainey are lucky in the sense that they have the option of going the NCAA route, or making the jump to major junior. Once a player signs with a major junior team, they are ineligible to receive an NCAA scholarship, because the NCAA deems major junior to be professional hockey.
While Delainey eventually decided to take the scholarship, it wasn’t as though the Western Hockey League didn’t try to change his mind.
“This summer I had Portland and Medicine Hat talk to me about going to their camps,” he revealed. “I decided to turn it down because I’m a real education first kind of guy. WHL would be great, but that was my first priority.”
Hasselberg says he believes players can choose the path they believe will better suit them.
“That’s the good thing about any sport, is that the player has the choice to choose the direction and the path that they want,” he explained. “I have no doubts that if Reed chose to go to Portland then he would have poured his heart into that process and tried to become the best player he could become, but at the end of the day it’s the family and the player’s choice as to what direction they want to go.”
While the Canadian Hockey League does offer to pay one year of schooling for every year a player plays in the league at a Canadian university, getting an education from an NCAA school is more lucrative. Total tuition and room and board fees for a full-time undergraduate at RIT for 2014-15 were over $47,000.
Delainey already knows what he’ll be studying as well.
“I’m thinking of taking business and then moving into accounting and becoming a chartered accountant,” he said.
Before he begins his life south of the border, he’ll spend one more year with the Battlefords North Stars, at the suggestions of RIT.
“I think we both agreed that I need another year to develop and get a little bigger and stronger,” he said. “I’m only 160 pounds right now, so it worked for me and it worked for them and we decided on that.”
Delainey’s commitment to a Division 1 school might be even more impressive given the fact he went straight from Midget AA to Junior A, skipping Midget AAA.
He gives a lot of the credit to his coach and teammates.
“I’ve learned a lot (during his time here),” Delainey proclaimed. “The veteran players have helped, teaching me little things. I came in as a 17-year-old having never played a game of AAA. Kevin is a great coach and has taught me a lot. I’ve improved since then, that’s for sure.”
Hasselberg says things like this are the reason someone becomes a coach.
“You’re proud,” he laughed. “That’s why we’re in the business. We develop players to get to the next level. It doesn’t really matter what it is, whether it’s NCAA or Canadian Interuniversity Sport, any time you see one of your guys have success that way, you feel very good about it. I can’t stress enough the players are the ones who have to make the choice to be the player they are. When they do that, good things happen.”
Delainey says his opportunity to attend the World Junior A camp didn’t hurt his development either.
“It was a great experience, it’s a different caliber of game,” he explained. “When you go to that kind of thing it really makes you see where you have to be and how big it is because that’s the level you have to play at.”
With the Jan. 10 SJHL trade deadline fast approaching, Delainey says he and his teammates can’t worry about what might happen.
“It’s always a scary and exciting time of the year,” he admitted. “There’s always thoughts about if you get traded or if one of your better friends gets traded. It’s something that we can’t really worry about because it’s not our decision. We just keep playing hockey and hopefully winning games, and that always helps when the trade deadline rolls around.”
The North Stars struggled over the final weeks of 2014, losing seven of nine games before their nearly three-week break, and Delainey thinks time away from the game will help them in the second half.
“I think going into the break everyone was a little tight in the dressing room,” he said. “Things kind of hit a little rough patch. The trip to Minnesota got us a little team bonding, even though we didn’t win the game. We’re coming closer together as teammates so I think the break will help.”
The North Stars took a trip to Minnesota to catch some NCAA games, and also play an exhibition game against the North American Hockey League’s Minnesota Magicians, a Junior A team.
The average age of an SJHL player during the 2014-15 season is 18.66 years old, whereas the average age of an NCAA player is 21.58 years old. Delainey knows the age difference is going to be a big adjustment.
“My main thing is just getting bigger. I’m not quite strong enough,” he admitted. “I’m going to be working out for the next couple years and try and put on a couple pounds. That’s the main thing I’ve been told to work on, and the thing I notice I need to work on the most.”
Now that Delainey is a future NCAA player, does that mean he’ll get special treatment?
“No, not at all,” Hasselberg said with a hearty laugh. “Part of the process of getting better is being accountable, and there’s always room for improvement. There’s aspects of his game that he has to improve to be a more complete player, he knows that and we have no doubt that he’s going to work on that stuff any chance he gets.”
Just as he has been leading up to his commitment, Delainey says he’ll remain in contact with RIT over the next year.
“Once a week they’ll call me, they’re coming to watch twice this month,” he said. “They’ll keep me in the loop with what I have to do and what they want me to do and what I want from them. Just general conversation.”
Delainey joins an exclusive list of North Stars players to receive scholarships to Division 1 NCAA schools. Blake Young spent two seasons with the North Stars before attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth beginning this year. One-time North Stars forward Luke McColgan, now with the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL, recently committed to the University of Alaska-Anchorage for next season. North Battleford’s own Blake Tatchell has been playing at Alaska-Anchorage for the past three seasons, leading the team in scoring as a freshman and a sophomore.
While RIT might not be a hotbed for NHL futures like Boston University or Boston College, their two most notable alumni are Edmonton Oilers/Oklahoma City Barons forward Steve Pinizzotto and Vancouver Canucks defenceman Chris Tanev.
If his game continues to improve the way it has over the past few years, RIT might just be another pit stop in Delainey’s hockey career.
Delainey and the North Stars are back in action tonight when they host the La Ronge Ice Wolves.
